One of the All-Time Great Cats

Fetcher 2005-2018 

We first met Fetcher on a soccer field near our house in Maryland.  In one of Paul's many distracted moments he spotted the young kitten along the sidelines and went over to visit.  Being a sociable little cat Fetcher won over Paul's heart.  We assumed he was a stray (it was that kind of country neighborhood) and were tempted to take him home with us.  But when we tried to carry him off the field he protested, so we left him with our heartfelt best wishes.   The next week it rained quite a bit and when we next saw Fetcher he was wet and hungry and cried out fiercely that he was ready to go home with us.  

We lived on over three acres in one of the last rural areas of a county which was quickly being developed into suburbia.  Although the area right around our house was a heaven for animals with lots of room to live the outdoor life, down our long driveway was a very busy commuting road, quite dangerous for animals.  There wasn't any chance that Fetcher would be happy as a house cat, so we held our breaths and let him do his thing, knowing that this new stray cat of ours might not live too long.   

But he surprised us.  For eight years he lived the high life of an outdoor cat with the backup safety net of an always-accessible cat door leading to good food, warmth, and love from his humans.   He was a fierce hunter of mice and chipmunks and loved to leap on a tree trunk and run up it just to show off his strength.  He once fought with a fox and survived, though he did have $500 worth of vet bills.  (I think it made the vet's day, having little occasion to stitch up a cat that had bested a fox.)  Despite his warrior skills he was very sociable and loving with people, playing well with Paul and his friends and coming in most nights to sleep with me and Ben for a few hours.  He had a special interest in the many workmen that came to our house and loved to explore their trucks.  Once time a workman was most of the way down our long drive before he realized that Fetcher was hitchhiking a ride with him! 

 He loved that country life so much and handled it so well that when we moved to Colorado we thought about leaving him behind.  We were moving to a small city neighborhood quite different than the country environment that Fetcher knew and loved.   Our new house was on a busy corner, with lots of car traffic.  In addition everyone warned us that cats didn't last long here due to the foxes and mountain lions that hunted small tasty creatures like cats.  So when our neighbors, who were crazy about him, suggested we leave him with them, we gave it serious thought.  

But in the end we couldn't bear to move without Fetcher so he came along with us.  Our plan was to keep him inside, but he would have none of that.  He made it very clear (through misbehaviour) that he would be impossible to live with as an indoor cat, so we held our breaths and let him out. 

Much to our surprise, Fetcher not only survived in his new home, he thrived.  Always a sociable cat, he loved visiting with all the people that walked by our new home, especially the school children who stopped to pet him and love him on their way to and from school.   Over the past few years we met many people who knew our cat, either from petting him as they passed on the sidewalk or from finding him in their yards and even their houses.   When I went to the doctor at the end of my first year here I was surprised to learn that her daughter knew Fetcher and loved him; she had even named him "Magic."  When we went to a neighborhood party up the street, who was there already but Fetcher!  "Oh, he comes in to visit all the time," we were told.  We regularly got a kick out of watching people loving and petting Fetcher on the sidewalk in front of our house.  Occasionally we had to go out and assure them that he already had a home. 

Well, I could go on and on.  The fact is that he was one of the all-time great cats.  He brought us much joy, an occasional bout of worry (he did disappear once for three days!), and didn't wreck the house too much (there are holes in the bedroom blinds where he'd scratch to get our attention in the early mornings.)  He leaves behind many great memories and his many admirers in the 'hood will miss him.  

Although his rapid decline shocked us, we are glad that he didn't suffer very long.  

We loved him and will miss him, and are glad we had all these fun years with him.  It's hard to lose a wonderful pet, but what a gift to have had their companionship.    

The Hardest Thing about Owning a Pet

When we got back from Sicily we were surprised to realize that Fetcher had suddenly turned into a house cat.  Instead of spending his time outdoors hunting mice and visiting with all the people that walk by our house, he preferred to stay inside.  He spent most of his time curled up sleeping on the sofa or wherever he could make a cozy nest.   He didn't eat or drink much, a result, we thought, of the new food the vet had prescribed for the kidney troubles that were beginning to show as he aged.   

At the end of October he had some dental work and while he was in we went ahead and had some x-rays taken.  They revealed a growth of some kind at the back of Fetcher's lungs, in a hard to see or treat location.  His weight had also taken a big drop down to 7.12 from the 9.10 he weighed when we moved here in June of 2014.  We discussed next steps with the vet and decided to watch and wait. 

Over the past month Fetcher became even less active, basically just going out for brief bathroom visits and spending a lot of time curled up on Ben's chest or on his lap.  The dental work was successful but he wasn't any more inclined to eat or drink. 

On Tuesday we took him in for a checkup and were shocked to find that he had lost a pound in the last five weeks.  He's down to 6.12 pounds and still has little appetite or energy.  He doesn't want much interaction with us and hasn't slept in bed with us for several days.  He walks very slowly the few times a day when he moves around.  He seems to be failing quickly and we are considering end-of-life scenarios for him. 

As all pet owners know, deciding when an animal should be euthanized is incredibly difficult.  I think Fetcher is the sixth cat that Ben and I have owned since we married and we also have had three dogs.  We euthanized all but two of these much-loved creatures.  (Molly McQuire, a beautiful tom cat, simply disappeared one day and lovely Priscilla was hit by a car.)  

Having been through this so many times we have a good idea of how we want things to go.  We've learned that waiting until the bitter end is not good for the animal or for us.  A vet told us that most people wait too long; the pet is ready well before their people are.  We know how important it is to schedule with a vet who knows Fetcher and us.  We've learned that scheduling at the end of the day when the office isn't so busy allows for a more peaceful and private appointment.  We've learned that a  calm and caring environment makes it possible to hold and love our kitty as he leaves us.  

We know that making the hard decision and planning for the best experience is that last gift we can give our pet.    

But we also know that no matter well we plan, it will be brutally hard to say goodbye to our wonderful Fetcher cat.   

  

I Like Thursday: Lazy Summer Afternoons

After a brief spell of cooler days, Boulder is back to having hot summer afternoons.  I find myself giving into the heat, hanging out in the my non-air conditioned but still cool living room to escape the sun. 

I'm not the only one.   Fetcher is always up for a little nap.  

That Handsome Dog Gus is staying with us this week and we're glad to see that he doesn't mind joining us for an afternoon snooze.  

When the temps climb to above 90 in the afternoon, you have to plan to walk or hike in the cooler mornings or evenings.  It's so worth the effort to get outside, not only because your body loves it, but because there is usually a good view as a reward.  

And sometimes even some art!  Loved the surprise of finding this wonderful sculpture by Steve Jensen at Lake McIntosh in Longmont the other day.

 Back home there's plenty of quilting, gardening, and cleaning to do, but they're not getting done with any speed.

I had to laugh when I saw this sign on the taps at the Boulderado, where Ben and I had lunch today.   It about sums things up! 

Well, those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer will be gone before we know it, so we might as well enjoy them now. 

Linking to my friend Lee Anna's weekly I Like Thursdays at Not Afraid of Color.

A Rainy Afternoon

After dry days of 90+ degrees, this Sunday afternoon of cool mid-60's and a steady slow rain is very welcome.

Nothing quite as nice as a lazy day of reading the paper, putzing around the studio, and taking a little nap.   

Except maybe going out to dinner with friends, which we are just about to do!

"I LIke" Thursday

Joining my friend LeeAnna's "I Like" Thursday, at Not Afraid of Color because one antidote to these  crazy political times is refocusing on the little things that make you happy.    

Did I tell you that Paul came home from his trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands?  He had a great time and was all smiles as he sported a nifty Panama hat and some cool sunglasses.   I like having him back. 

No sooner had he returned but he cut his hair and bleached it to a summery silver.  I like it, but I'd better enjoy it now since he says he'll soon add some color, maybe blue.

Did I tell you that Fetcher got a big cut under his front left leg, up in the armpit?  (Do cats have armpits? Well, you get the idea anyway.)  The vet said it looked like he jumped up on a fence that had metal or glass at the top.  Poor kitty!  He had to get several stitches and stay inside for a week which he hated except that he got to snuggle up with Ben a lot.  He's on the mend now, which I like very much.  

The flowers around here have been very beautiful so far this year.  Don't know what this one is, but I sure like it.

It's been fun watching the blooming Allium .....

..transform into these space-like dried flowers.

There's been a lot of purple flowers lately, which I like. 

It's been hot the past few days and check out this weather forecast for tomorrow!  I don't think its hit 100 degrees since we moved here.   Not so sure I like this new record. 

But I do like gin & tonics on a hot summer day! 

And even in the heat, meeting friends downtown for happy hour is always fun. 

Actually, I'm not too concerned about it being 100 degrees tomorrow since by 7:30 a.m. I'll be on a bus to the airport and by 4:00 p.m. Hawaii time I'll be in Maui!  Ben and I are off to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.  I like that!

I won't be posting here for the next week or so, and I'm anti Facebook at the moment (bad FB!), but I may put a few photos up on Instagram.  Catch me at Spikeyfetcher.

Problem Solving

We took down the tree and other Christmas decorations yesterday.  It was a three-man job, with me wrapping the ornaments, Paul taking the lights off, and Ben getting the tree off the stand and out the door for the compost guys to take away tomorrow.  I'm always sad to see the decorations go, but I do love getting the house back to its normal configuration. 

Having helpers meant that some things were done differently this year than when I handle the whole job myself.  Paul impressed me by carefully coiling up each strand of lights, fastening them with Velcro wraps that he had bought to organize all the cables the make his computer setup work, and packing the strands into a box where they will wait nice and flat and tidy until next year.  Yes, I admit, I usually just throw them all in a jumble in a big shopping bag!   

He got me thinking about organizing in general.  I'd already been thinking about whether I wanted to make any New Year's resolutions and working with Paul made me change that question to "What isn't working so well?"  

One thing that wasn't working was how I kept my collection of quilting rulers.  For the past three years they've sat in a pile on a shelf near my cutting table and I'd have to rummage through the pile to find the one I wanted.  Not only was this a pain but I was starting to notice the wear and tear this was causing to these expensive sewing notions.  A search of Pinterest revealed that most people were hanging them in file folder holders mounted on a wall, or on a pegboard on a wall, or on Command hooks on a wall.   Well, I had a wall but I didn't want to spend any money on this improvement so I decided to just hang them on nails above the cutting table.  Voila!  Now I can see them all at once and grab the one I want.  

I also decided it was time to improve my cutting table setup.  I had two mats of different sizes and from different manufacturers and they just weren't playing well together.  So I bit the bullet and bought a new one ($50 with a discount!) so now I have two that make one big cutting surface with measuring grids that match up nicely.  

Thinking about solutions to these small problems made me think of other problems that need solving, like how to cook beans at this higher altitude (solution: learn to use our pressure cooker) and how to print labels for my quilts (solution: finally decide on what new inkjet printer to buy).  I added these to my "to do" list and moved on to a problem that would be fun to solve:  how to add text to photo collages.  I like the PicFrame app I got a while back but it doesn't seem to have a way to add text.  So I got a free 7-day trial of PicMonkey after playing around with it decided to go ahead a subscribe. 

Here's a quickly made sample of a collage using it.  

It's fun to use and time will tell if it's worth the $6 a month. 

 

He's Back!

Look who we found as we walked Gus tonight!  We looked up and there he was trotting down a neighbor's driveway like he hadn't been missing for 24 hours!  The little devil.  Although it was only 7:30 we brought him home and locked him in for the night.  

Bad kitty for worrying us.  Good kitty for coming when he saw us tonight. 

Today

Today I'm.....

...looking forward to my "girl's weekend" in San Diego with my sister, Jean, and our good friend from high school, Janice.  I leave tomorrow!  

....worrying about my cat, Fetcher, who didn't come home last night.  We haven't seen him since yesterday which is not good considering all the wildlife around here.  

...working hard to get some things done before I leave.  It wasn't the best planning to take four days off to see the eclipse when I had another vacation following right on its tail, but I'm glad I did.  

...feeling glad that Paul figured out which Bari Sax he wants.  He's been playing on a rental for three years and saving up for the last year for his own instrument.  He had saved his part of the cost by May but then couldn't find one he wanted in stock to purchase.  Now he has and I'm glad that we can all stop thinking and talking about it.   

...enjoying having That Handsome Dog Gus visiting with us.  He arrived this morning and will stay the weekend.    

...appreciating how Ben installed a new, sharp-looking mailbox while I was in Nebraska.  These little changes make a big difference!   

Guest Blogger: Fetcher

The one who feeds me has been too busy quilting the past few days to write this blog, so I finally decided I'd better take over.

I like it when she's quilting because it means there's a nice comfy quilt in the studio to snooze on, though it does mean that she's too distracted to pay much attention to me!

Luckily, the one who turns on the faucets for me to drink from isn't so distracted right now. When he isn't gone somewhere he's very willing to let me lay on him and never nudges me off like she does.

I wonder what he does when he's gone?  I hear that he's "climbing" or "biking" but just what is that? Probably he's out hunting for all that food he brings home every day.

Oh, well, no worries.  There's always someplace to curl up and wait for him to come back and pet me.

That dog Gus was over the other night.  I got tired of hanging around upstairs out of his way and decided to show him just whose house this is.  After all,  I have every right to sit in my own living room!  I gave him the evil eye and he kept his distance.  That's good, because there's a world of pain for him if he forgets who is boss around here.

The guy who feeds Gus is so smitten with that dog that he rarely notices me.  But the other night I decided to win him over to my side and I succeeded!  I have to say, it didn't take long.

I was so happy to see my friend, Inger, again the other day.  She keeps talking about some cat named Polly who has six toes, which is certainly odd, but it's clear she loves only me.

I'm amused at how these food-givers fall so easily for my charms.  Little do they know the real me, the fearsome hunter who has single-handily depleted the neighborhood of mice and chipmunks.

Well, what they don't know about my private life won't hurt them.  As they say, "What happens outside, stays outside!"

Sun and Snow

On Tuesday it was warm and sunny.  Early in the morning Ben and I left our car at the Chapman Trail head and did a six mile hike up the back of Flagstaff Mountain, down the front of Flagstaff via the Gregory Canyon Trail, across Chautauqua, and down into the neighborhood to our house. 

It sure is fun to do a hike that ends up at home, even if you do have to go fetch the car later.   And we got our exercise done in the cool weather before it hit the 70's, which doesn't seem hot until the sun shines strongly on you while you're hiking.    

I'm still not crazy about going up, but it sure is pretty once we get up there.   

So today, just two days later, we have snow.  Not so much early this morning, but enough for me to think about cancelling a quilt meeting I had scheduled.   But I bravely drove my car to it and all was well.  

The real fun happened after the meeting when I stopped to shop for some quilting thread.  In the twenty minutes I was in the store dropping over $100 on yummy colored threads and some fun supplies, the snow began to fall fast and the temperature began to plummet.   Here's my car when I came out.  It had been clean when I went into the store. 

After I'd been home an hour we had 3-4" out on the deck.  Another few inches may come tonight. It's mighty pretty but we are supposed to go to parent-teacher conferences tonight at school so we'll have to go out in the pretty mess.   Ah, there goes a plow!  That will help. 

Speaking of quilting, I made a big push to finish the top of the lap quilt I'm making for my sister Jean. I've warned her not to read this post if she wants to be surprised! She loves to travel so I'm making her a travel-themed quilt. 

This is the front, which features international travel.  (Those are "Animals of the World," in case you wondered.) 

And this is the back, which features travel in the United States.   I love having two sides for a lap quilt because after all, you never know which side you'll be looking at as you snuggle under the quilt while reading or watching TV.   I've decided to quilt it myself rather than send it out to someone with a special quilting machine, so there's no telling when I'll actually have it finished.  But it's well on its way!

Fetcher has  been very cuddly lately.  I really enjoyed watching him making himself at home in the bathroom sink yesterday.

Go to sleep, little kitty.  I won't bother you even if you are getting my sink dirty with cat hair!