A Lost Little Cat and a Ruined Birthday Surprise

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imageI’m tired today.

I feel a little raw and bruised, mainly because of the trauma of yesterday. The atmosphere of the house is different, almost empty. Daisy’s brother, Poppy (yes, I know it’s a girl’s name – long story) settled down well last night until 4.00am, at which point I think he realised that she wasn’t there, and took it upon himself to investigate every room downstairs, crying as he went. It was quite heartbreaking to listen to – this was only the second night in eleven years that he had spent without her and he was clearly feeling lost.

He’s spent most of today being extremely quiet, fast asleep on my lap. It’s odd – normally he has a mad half-an-hour of running around, playing and making lots of noise after he’s been fed, but today he’s just… sad.

Thankfully, both The Bloke and I are off work for the next week so we have the time to be able to get him used to the new situation.

Unintentionally, this morning I also managed to ruin a massive surprise for my birthday that The Bloke has had planned for weeks. My birthday is in November, and I knew that he had something organised, but he wouldn’t tell me what it was or even give me clues as to what to wear (I’m terrible with surprises). On Facebook, I saw an advertisement for the new production of RENT that is touring the UK soon, and I got all excited about it, squeaking at him that I was going to book tickets when I next got paid (we both love RENT). Unfortunately, he then had to reveal that he had already booked tickets for one of the performances in London in December, along with a night in a hotel and train tickets. He’d even arranged for my friend to cat sit.

Bless him. I felt so guilty, particularly when I saw the disappointment on his face, but in another way it was exactly what I needed this morning to lift my spirits (after I had finished crying), and I now know that I have something absolutely incredible to look forward to. It’s funny, we have a history of accidentally ruining surprises for each other.

I’m a very lucky girl indeed. He was absolutely incredible through everything yesterday evening – I couldn’t have got through it without him.

Thank you so much for all the blog and social media messages I’ve received – every single one is appreciated and I’ll reply to them all… This is why I love the community – it’s such a caring and supportive place.

40 thoughts on “A Lost Little Cat and a Ruined Birthday Surprise”

  1. Bless you Suzie. A ruined surprise it may be, but it’s given you the lift you needed right now. In my eyes that beats the original intention 😍

  3. It is so hard on the survivors. I have been told let them see the body that it helps.Again my sympathy for this lost and prayer that each of you have the strength to handle the lost.

  7. My Mom had a male Siamese named Poppy, so yours is not alone. Poor guy! I have had pets who mourned a missing companion for months. Give him lots of extra love and enjoy Rent. I LOVE it, too.

  8. You have a wonderful man in the Bloke. I’m glad that his “surprise” helped your spirits today. Give Poppy a few scratches and rubs for me and tell him he has awesome human parents.

  9. Hi Suzy, again, so sorry for your loss. I have just read this post while having just finished breakfast, and was thinking about how our dear little Fozzie used to burst in through a side window, smash through the vertical blinds, and trot merrily halfway across the lounge before looking around and back tracking to the kitchen. It has only been just over a week, but the sense of something missing is still great. Fortunately, our other 2 aren’t missing him too much. Unlike us, and unlike you will miss your dear little one. It is the little things that bring us the sense of sadness and loss, but also those little things that bring us love and joy. As we say in New Zealand, Aroha nui (much love), Kia kaha ( keep going, stay strong).

  10. That was a really fun post to read. Dan HATES that I always managed to guess his surprises, even when I don’t try to.

    Animals feel every ounce of emotion that we do. All you can both do is be there for each other. I’m sorry it’s such a sad time for you.

  11. So sorry for your loss, and to see Poppy grieving must be equally heartbreaking. Glad you have a lovely birthday not quite surprise to look forward to during this time :-). I never saw Rent but I actually lived in New York before it hit Broadway, and everyone was talking about it, so I always associate it with that era in my life! xo

    • Thanks Steff – we’ve been pretty obsessed with it since we saw it live earlier in the year and we’re going to New York next year so we’ve already decided to visit the Nederlander and have a look…

  12. So sorry that Poppy feels the loss of Daisy in his life. So fortunate for you that The Bloke loves you so much. Sorrow is part of life. So are surprises – you might have gotten yours a bit early, but still, he surprised you with a wonderful gift.

  15. So sad for your precious kitty and her parents, although when you miss something precious you realize how precious it was and can be thankful for the opportunity to have had it. We have two cats who HATE each other; we had to put one outside so they would stop fighting. Then the one remaining inside moped around for days, sadly inspecting every room for her arch nemesis. One night, my husband caught the two cats nose to nose at the sliding glass door, acting as if they missed each other and wanted contact. He opened the door– and the hissy fit began. We continue with one outdoor and one indoor kitty. :/

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