What a week

It all started when mummy rushed home from work and without so much as a hello I was bundled into my backpack and I thought mummy and I were heading off to walkies in the woods which was a bit unusual at this time of year as we don’t go there after it gets dark.

Maybe I’m going back off to the v-e-t again so she can stab me in the neck and give me medicine that makes me feel super happy and very, very excited. That’s what happened earlier in the week so perhaps I’ve got to go back again to be poked and prodded. Every so often I get a lump come up where my eye would be, normally mummy gives me some yummy medicine and it goes back down again, last time it was coz I jumped through the spikey hedge and caught a blackbird! This time though mummy hadn’t seen me do anything unusual like that or run into anything but she can spot the signs, I don’t want to go on long walkies, I get slightly disoriented and just generally a bit out of sorts. So mummy took a close look and sure enough there it was a squishy little swelling just above where my eye would be. She hunted out the magic medicine which worked for a little bit but then back the swelling came with a vengeance. I was hiding under the bed and wouldn’t come out, when mummy or daddy tried to pick me up I just sat there like a lump, then back into hiding and shouting at everything. So mummy gave me some calming oil on my fur which helped and my medicine which helped further but I was still poorly the next day so I was rudely bundled up and whisked off to be checked out.

A jab in the neck, some horrid tablets and the yummy medicine later and I was one happy, happy kitty. The v-e-t said the pain medicine she jabbed in my neck would make me a bit dopey – oh boy was she wrong. I was away in happy Jenny land, there were twirlies, there was rubbing, there was crazy scratching, nuzzles, nose boops, chin scratches, chirrups, meows and also some sitting in the middle of the room just staring quite happily at nothing.

It made mummy and daddy laugh as they’ve never seen me quite like this before and said I was just so happy but completely full on. I remember nothing! 24 hours later and I was back to my normal self again. So when I was bundled hurriedly into my backpack with my harness on I just thought we were back to the v-e- t for a check up but then daddy came out of the house with us and he never comes with mummy and I…unless…we’re going to the pub! Yey! I figured it out, that’s where we were going a family trip to the pub but wait we never go to the pub together when mummy has been on a go to work day as it’s normally a bit too busy for me so there’s still something odd going on.

A quick ride in the car with much protesting from me on the way (I don’t like cars or corners) and we arrived, mummy put me on her front and I could hear the noise of the pub before we even opened the door and then it was like a wall of sound hitting me like a wave, it was busy, busy, busy. Mummy perched me on my bar stool and said “it’s ok Jenny, we’ve just got to wait a little while and it’ll be our turn. We’re first in the queue.” Our turn for what? I meowed, what are we queuing for? We come to the pub to chill not to queue. Then Aunty Beki came over and whispered “Come on Jenny it’s your turn, Santa Paws is waiting for you.”

SANTA PAWS! Did you say SANTA PAWS! We’re meeting SANTA PAWS! Oh my cat! Oh my Cat! It’s Santa and I get to meet him and can I sit on his lap mummy and will he give me a little stroke like he did last time? Can I tell him what kind of gift I’d like for Catmas? Oh no! What if I haven’t been good this year! Have I been good mummy? I had so many thoughts rush through my head all at once. What if I’ve been more naughty than nice? I haven’t been very nice to Mona Lisa yet but I did give my Catmas pawket money to the animal charity so does that balance out enough? What about all those times I’ve been grumpy to mummy and my sisfurs, what about when I was sicky on my wheel and ran on it and got it everywhere and daddy had to clean it. What about when I went up the tree and wouldn’t come down and mummy had to stand there for ages waiting for me or when I hid under the bush when it was raining and mummy had to stand there and get wet?

I was like a giddy little starstruck kitten and a gibbering mess. Come on Jen pull yourself together I meowed to myself and just say hello to the big guy. I was a bit nervous at first as Santa sat on his chair especially with all the noise going on around me but I had a little wander about and then had a good sniff of everything. Santa smelt of dogs but that’s ok, the doggies aren’t as clever as us kitties and they don’t realise that Santa Paws is for all animals no matter what he looks like. I know underneath his floppy ears and giant paws he’s a kitty kinda guy at heart. I was right, he realised I was a little nervous so he got off his chair and sat on the floor with me. He knew just how to make me feel at ease and his big furry paws were so gentle and calming as he stroked me gently and meowed to me to let me know it was all ok.

Once I’d realised that it was all fine and I’d explored all the piles of presents I meowed at mummy to ask if I could hop up on Santas lap so I could whisper in his ear and tell him how good I’d been this year. Santa got back on his chair as that’s the proper place to hear kitty wishes and mummy popped me on his lap. I had a good head rub and he knew just where us kitties like to be rubbed just at the back of the head but avoiding my ears and that was just so lovely. I had a little chat with him and then mummy said that it was time for the doggies to meet Santa as he had lots of animals to see tonight so I meowed goodbye to Santa, told him I loved him and hopped in my backpack so mummy took me back to my bar stool.

We stayed for quite a while and I listened to mummy and daddy chat with their furriends and every so often a hand would reach in and give me a little stroke or head rub and mummy or daddy would say “you ok in there Jen” we moved to a table where we could all sit together with Rex the dog as well and I was allowed to have my backpack on the table – apparently theres a sign to say no dogs on the furniture but I can’t see that and technically it’s my backpack on the table not me (Aunty Beki said it was ok and she’s the boss). Despite all the noise I had worn myself out with all the excitement so as mummy opened the front door on the backpack so she could keep stroking me I curled up and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Catmas day, Santa Paws and piles of presents and treats.

This was way more fun than going to the v-e- t.

We might have had rough starts to life but we’re here to show you that no matter what life throws you’re way you can do whatever you set your mind to. We are so blessed with our lives and we couldn’t want for anything more than we have, a loving furramily, a wonderful home and a fun, caring, happy place to just be ourselves.

We hope that you too have your fairytale ending. Merry Catmas from us to you.