Cat Dilemmas

When we returned from Mwanza we were horrified to find that our dear cat, Paka Stanley, was missing. I must say that it ought not to be all that surprising, since we had moved house just a week or two beforehand, and it was clear that the poor moggy had not yet come to terms with her new territory. Things were no doubt complicated further by the presence of a yappy excitable dog named Winnie, the property of our neighbours Mike and Terri Kanellos.

Avril was very disciplined in her reaction to this unmitigated disaster. Nevertheless, after two further weeks of looking for poor Stan it became clear that a new cat was needed.

We advertised on a local mailing list for a neutered adult cat and within a couple of days we had collected Schlafum, an enormous dopey tom, half coarse ginger fur, half really soft white fur. Schlafum was so affectionate that he would get cross if you weren’t petting him. Avril took to him right away. Not only was he already housetrained and neutered, but he even had his own fully endorsed German passport. Well, you never know, maybe I’d be able to get German citizenship on his account.

Everything seemed to have gotten worked out and looking rosy, though quite naturally Avril still missed poor Stan. I even climbed up into Mike’s attic to see if her tiny furry body lay there, electrocuted by the deathtrap wiring.

Six days after our acquisition I was in a local supermarket when an Asian man whom I vaguely recognised approached me and insisted that he had spotted our cat. The man was our neighbour when we were in our old place, and he reckoned our cat was living in the roof next door to where we had been living. She had made it all the way back the three blocks to our old place, nearly a ten-minute walk for a person.

Avril needed only to report to the scene with a little of her favourite food and out she came.

So now we had two cats. Would they get on like a house on fire? Well, it became clear after only a short time that the two cats would never cohabit in our very constricted living space. We could see the appeal of having two cats, but not if they couldn’t get along.

Sadly, then, finally it became necessary to say goodbye to Schlafum, who was taken from us by an enthusiastic young lady who wanted to solve a vermin problem.

Here we are, then, back where we were at the start. Avril’s thrilled, of course, to have Paka Stanley back in good health, and I’m happy to report that she has finally made our little yard her own.