I hope this little bit of light hearted comment might cheer someone.
My cat adopted me two years ago. He has been my companion every day for those two years. He doesnt mind that I have had a stroke, he accepts me as I am. I havent had any pets so I was learning from scratch. When I awake I ache and dont want to start the day, but I then think about my dear little chap waiting for me at the kitchen door. So there is some purpose to life !
Well I tried writing a 500 word article for the national magazine "My cat". I am sure many of you grasp what an effort that was. Getting my brain to work does not come easy.
Today I saw a friends copy of the October magazine and hey presto, my dear cat Sooty is the back page star.
I am so chuffed. Perhaps I am not totally uselss after all.
I saw a pre publication copy (via the local cat lady) I think its published in the middle of the month. Its a stunning £4.25 so we dont buy it ! We get a copy when others have finished with it. Yes we are getting proper rural Essex penny pinchers.
It was so nice to have something to completely detract from the daily grind of pains and discomfort. My aches and pains are worst first thing and knowing my dear little chap will be outside, waiting to be let in, is my motivation to get up and walk.
I thought hard and long before accepting Sooty. Not everyone can spend the daily time on a cat, nor have the finance if things go wrong. I am so pleased we accepted him. He is more than a part of our lives, he is the mainstay ! He is a great boost to my recovery. When I am at home alone it is a great comfort to have a living thing present. I adore him beyond all reason.
Well done Colin!! Sooty Le Magnifique is now a well known star! What a good idea on your behalf. I bet it wasn’t easy to write the article but you got it done and published.
Super. You are a star too ✨
Send you some news soon from here on the island in the Med... from your big admirer, the “muffin”.
I felt really pleased reading your news, well done you! Sounds like you and Sooty have a wonderful friendship and that's great to hear. Keep up staying motivated and perservering. I'm sure thats just the start and there are more fantastic things ahead for you.
My life pre stroke was very very different and I have had to learn that now I have a different and new life.
I was grasped back from the jaws of death and have always felt that I survived for a reason. My dear cat is a reason. My voluntary work, just a few hours a month, is a reason and my making tea and coffee and waiting on tables at the local church hall is another reason.
An hour ago Sooty followed my wife and son down our long garden and wanted to be around his human staff. Nothing can compare. He trusts me and I trust him. I say he is a little cat, but at 6kg he is actually big, with long sharp teeth and big sharp claws, but he doesnt scratch nor bite us. I adore him.
When i get the nasty pains on waking, I remember he is waiting at the kitchen door and this gives me the willpower to get those mis aligned joints in to action.
I know exactly what you mean Colin. My cat Harry means the world to me. He is always there for me and a real character too. He's a ginger tom and has both an affectionate and lively personality. Like Sooty he doesn't scratch me, my sister or niece, who all live together. He does get spoilt by us though, being the only boy in our home.
My partner had a stroke just over a year ago. He looked after Harry in June while I went on holiday with my family. I think he enjoyed looking after him even though he got bitten by him for being petted too much. Pets are a good distraction when you go through the pain, discomfort and rehabilitation- post stroke. Wishing you a successful recovery, and look forward to hearing more tails about your Supercat!
Our household is usually just me and Rose. And I encourage Rose to go away for a few days and to go out most days. So its a quiet and empty bungalow. Sooty keeps the place alive. He is very much the boss and I am his favoured servant.
I now have a copy of the magazine "Your cat". I even got the title wrong, its not "My cat". Where did my brain go to ?
I have so much to learn about cats.
I read about these robotic cats that are being taken to care homes. Interesting.
There is nothing quite like having a cat sit with you or even circle around your legs for food. I am also intrigued that cats speak to humans but not to other cats.
In the first months Sooty did make a gesture of snapping at us. But as soon as we had learnt what he didnt like then he doesnt even make the gesture, let alone actually bite. As far as I am concerned its his house and we share it with him. He hasnt snuggled so much lately, but that might be the exceptionally warm weather. We live in a dry and mild part of England so it is probably too warm for a cat with a soft warm coat.
Thats good progress if your partner cared for himself within the first year. There will be lots more improving to follow. He probably will not return to how he was, but maybe his new self will in some ways be even better.
Thats funny how Sooty thinks of you as his favourite servant. That's exactly what Jon thinks about Harry. They are all such characters. I've also wondered why cats only talk to people and not other cats. They must be mimicing us!
Having robotic cats in care homes sounds interesting, that's not something I know about. Hmmmm not the same as a warm cuddly pet to have around. A few years ago, Jon and I went on holiday to Budapest and just as I was telling him how much I missed Harry, we stumbled across a cat cafe. It was so much fun. It was a cafe/bar where you could pet and play with a variety of cats. We had a lot of fun messing around with the cats and there was even a mini Harry there too.
It has taken Jon some time to adjust to his new life. Before he had the stroke he had a brain tumour removed which has returned, so he has a lot to deal with.
He misses being active and visiting new places. However he has become more interested in his music collection and buying and selling LPs. He also has started a project to decorate his guitars using different paint effects.
I will look out for the article you wrote about Sooty in Your Cat.
Over the years I have noted how many SS are musicians.
For those of us who are not musicians, I think music plays quite a large part in our recovery. If nothing else, its a sort of marker on recovery. Asphasia was one of the things that I was lumbered with. It took about three years for my voice to recover, which it is now at about 95%. The other 5% is trivial and will just mean I opt out of christmas carole singing.
Robotic cats are good because the mentally disabled wont harm the cat and the human will react to these robots.
I wonder if cats meow to us as a sort of warning...I am here, dont tread on me.
Sooty meows if he wants a door opened or wants food. I think he might also meow when he thinks its time for a cuddle. He is too big for me to pick him up but he nestles alongside.
I am now slow moving, quiet and I rest a lot. I also spend nigh on all my time at home. All this is ideal for a cat who needs a consistent servant.
He is asleep on my bed. When I get up, he is usually cuddled tight against me, so as I slide out of bed I put a pillow in my place and Sooty cuddles up to that.
Us servants are totally replaceable.
Rose is out shopping and its nice that I have a living animal in the house. Even a sleeping one. Sooty is nocturnal. Is Harry an outdoors or nocturnal cat ?
I have two boys when I feel frightened or feel unwell I have my boys cuddle and find just stroking them hearing them or just playing a watching keeps me going.
So very nice that several SS (and carer) get comfort from their cats.
I need to revise my first light hearted post...in fact he is not a domestic cat but a very gentle small panther. He weighs in at a hefty 6kg and I cant lift him up.
How do cats know exactly what I am about to do? I offered Sooty his two bowls of breakfast and he sat and looked at the bowls. Often, all I have to do is touch the bowl and he will eat his breakfast. But today he didnt eat, despite my several efforts. So I decide I will pick the bowls up. He started eating before I had moved more than six inches. How does he know ??
He has now settled on the wifes bed. The bedroom gets the morning sun.
And whats the water thing with my cat ? I leave fresh water well away from his food, one bowl at the front and one at the back of my bungalow. He wont drink if we are watching him. Today he went to his less favoured "front" bowl, and soon afterwards was waiting for me to open the door to the conservatory (his back bowl) where he went and drank more water.
In the garden he will drink when we are with him or watching him. Always the less clean water, and his favoured water is to drink out of the full watering can inside the greenhouse.
This is all far more interesting than the daily grind of stroke recovery. And best of all, top take my mind off my recovering brain/body.
Well done Colin!! Sooty Le Magnifique is now a well known star! What a good idea on your behalf. I bet it wasn’t easy to write the article but you got it done and published. 
