I took many hundreds of pictures of Skitten since 2007. But this was the very last one. When we first got it home from Maatjiesfontein, I was convinced that we didn’t need a third cat. I took the cutest pictures I could of it parading about to make into a collage to advertise it… and in so doing it tricked me into falling in love with it. It liked to sit on windowsills and contemplate the world going by. A most philosophical animal.
Skitten is gone. 14 years of living with one of the finest little beings ever - even though it never knew anything. The growth in its throat was obstructing its breathing and it was getting worse and worse. Ever since Aparna sent it home from Maatjiesfontein in a box in 2007, we’ve made sure it had only good times. Simply the best little cat.
Across the road is a vast contiguous property with massive security. We call it ‘The Cult Compound.’ @withoutaleaf once took an interview with Gwyneth Paltrow’s brother in there and has glimpsed its secret interior. Today this huge load of soil was dropped off. With a bit of internet sleuthing, following up on the truck, getting to the manifest - some hacking was required - I discovered this soil originated in the Transylvania region of Romania and is described as ‘Vintage Funereal Soil - 1,200kg’ What could they want with over a ton of grave soil? And what does it have to do with the four crates that were delivered yesterday afternoon? Maybe just some very exotic gardening? ...
Poor Skitten has been wheezy and needed vetting. It’s going in tomorrow morning to check its larynx again. But at least its lungs are fine. Skitten is not a fan of automobile travel.
It’s a lovely day tomorrow… Some proper Cape Town rain today. Skitten is taking every precaution to ensure coziness.
Skitten making use of its little tower chamber again.
A truer love you’ll seldom see. The weather is beginning to turn in Cape Town. And Skitten is far more tolerant of this kind of thing than she was a few weeks ago. It’s my birthday which, for symbolic reasons, means it’s Skitten’s birthday too. It’s 14 now. A venerable creature. It still doesn’t know anything. A little less feisty and not quite as adventuresome. But otherwise very much the same strange little animal that @withoutaleaf sent me from Maatjiesfontein back in 2007.
When Mr. Crumb first met Skitten, he was a smitten kitten. It’s happened to many. Four years on, his love for Skitten is still deep, pure, and a regular source of annoyance to Skitten.
I thought I’d maintain my vertical line of Skitten pictures. Seen here on its balcony that it loves.
Skitten was ill recently - which is most unlike it. And kind of strange given that @withoutaleaf and I have had not even a sniffle this year thanks to all of the anti-covid measures also protecting us from common viruses. Its eyes were streaming and it was sneezing up a storm. Luckily after some vet-prescribed eye-drops and pills, it’s right as rain again, full of beans and following me down to the kitchen every single time - ever hopeful of treats.