Felix Domesticus

“The cat from France liked to sing and dance. But my cat likes to hide in boxes.” Eve Sutton.

Some things never change…

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After two weeks in the wilderness, Thutmose has returned sans natty purple collar. There were no phone calls claiming that “Tiddles” was their grey cat. Nothing. So, as experiments go - this one was a complete and utter failure.

The humans are worried about Thutmose’s wandering ways, still. Despite keeping him in, he continues to go off for two or three weeks at a time. Not that the rest of us worry; more room at the food bowls; but the humans seem to like him and want him around. Why? When they’ve got me? I don’t understand. But, then, humans are a strange, irrational species and I’ll never really comprehend them…

Anyway, they have come to the conclusion that the wandering Tut has a second home. They reached this conclusion because having disappeared for three weeks, he put on weight. So, they have decided that he isn’t living rough when he wanders. Their cunning plan is to put a collar on him, despite them not liking collars on cats (none of us wear them). They are putting a tag on with their contact details in the hope that whoever is giving him succour will contact them. Of course, this could result in a tug of kitty exchange as the other home (if it exists) may decide that he is their cat and he is called Tiddles.

Still, they put the collar on last night. A purple one. And I must say, he does look rather dashing… I could almost fancy him myself.

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Harry is a cat. A great big fluffy grey cat. He was featured on the BBC Breakfast programme this morning because he has recently undergone successful open heart surgery. He is the subject of Thursday’s Supervets programme.

Harry had a heart murmur – an abnormal sound detected when listening to the heart with a stethoscope. It was discovered by his local vet when he was three months old.

Not being aware before that this procedure was available for small animals, I was fascinated. The operation was a success and Harry was in the studio looking healthy and fit - a magnificent moggie.

Of course, the inevitable, predictable questions were aired…

How much did it cost? Well, the surgery alone cost £10,000 and the other peripheral treatment added up to as much again, so £20,000 in all. The insurance company picked up the tab.

The next, equally predictable and, frankly, distasteful question just had to be asked.

Was it worth it? Should we really be spending this money on a pet?

The answer given was a good one. Dan Brockman of the Royal College said that if we look upon pets as luxury items and no one bats an eyelid at people spending £150,000 on a car, then why not?

Would I do it if it meant the difference between life and death for one of our cats? Damn right I would. £150,00 on a car? You’ve got to be joking, but £20,000 on a living companion - no question about it.

_{Cross posted from Longrider}
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