Sickness, sadness, suffering… and goodbyes

First of all, let me thank you for your ongoing prayers over the past two months. The intense pleurisy pain that I've been suffering for the past weeks slowly seems to be getting a little less. The chest pain is still there, but I'm needing fewer pain killers to keep it under control, and I think that's hopefully a good sign.

I wasn't the only one experiencing sickness in our house, however. Little Tamba, the cat that I took in from the street some seven and a half years ago was really under the weather too, and I began to suspect that she might be dying, or that something was seriously wrong.

She began vomiting at the weekend, then seemed listless and off her food, and by yesterday (my birthday) she seemed a little shaky on her legs. I knew it was time to take her to the vet, and I had a suspicion that I might be taking her there for the last time.

It was not the way I would have chosen to spend the evening of my birthday - a couple of hours at the vet's while they did blood tests and x-rays. The poor girl was dejected and dehydrated and, sure enough, the tests that came back showed that she had acute kidney failure and off-the-scale diabetes. It's amazing that she'd appeared so healthy and happy for so long.

She wasn't an old cat - probably only around nine years old - but with two serious illnesses like that, things were only going to get worse. I knew that the kindest thing to do was say goodbye now and not let her begin to suffer or have to be traumatised by taking medication. I made the decision to put my furry friend to sleep, and made my way back home with an empty cat carrier.

I think this was a little perplexing to Teddi and Tobi, who saw me leave with her in the carrier, and come back home without her. Tobi in particular seems to be looking around for her mum, as the two females often lay down and slept on a chair together. It'll no doubt be an adjustment. 

As I look back to my arrival in Spain in 2008, I realise that being adopted by Tamba played a big part in making Spain feel like home. I had left my dogs and cat in Cape Town, and was beginning a new season of life in a new and different country. Suddenly having a pet again definitely made a difference to the sense of having a "home" in this new nation.

Of course, I didn't know when I took Tamba in that she was pregnant with four little ones. It was never my intention to keep any of the kittens; it was just so difficult to find homes for black cats. But Tobi and Teddi ended up staying with me and, instead of coming home to a pet-less house last night, I came back to two furry friends who were obviously wondering what was going on. 

Whenever I remember Tamba, I'll remember that she was a blessing in my time of transition: I may have "given a home" to this little Spanish cat, but in reality, she gave a home to me too.