Back to the novel and a poorly cat

I took a week off writing The Haunted Tide to spend some time with my lovely husband, who had taken time off work to spend the week of my birthday with me. I made the decision to write only in the early hours when I can’t sleep and he can, so as not to disturb him. That meant focusing on shorter pieces, and the Quote Poem Challenge was just right for that. Tomorrow I must get back to my characters and give them something to do.

On 5th August I wrote about our cat Tosca and her strange behaviour. On Thursday we had an appointment to take Tosca to the vet. She eventually let us touch her; we found a lump on her back and she still wasn’t herself.

Tosca is an unusual cat, part tabby, part Abyssinian, with beautiful markings and fur that changes colour from brown to grey, with blonde tips. She was a rescue cat with a litter of kittens when I went to the local Cats Protection League, which happens to be in our village. I had been there many times before after our original cat, Max, died at the ripe old age of nineteen. We thought we would never replace him but a few years ago when I discovered Tosca, I decided that two female cats, preferably related, would be a good idea.

So Tosca and her daughter Luna, a black and white moggy, totally different to her mother in looks and temperament – she is a bit soppy and is almost twice Tosca’s size now – came to live with us. They were both very shy but trained to use a litter tray. It took a long time to gain their trust. Now Tosca is pretty much my cat, spending the day draped across the back of my chair, on my lap or curled up beside me. But only when she wants to. If I try to pick her up without her permission, she tells me off.

Finding the lump on her back worried me, and when she went missing an hour or two before the appointment with the vet, I nearly panicked. We phoned the vet, who was very understanding – another cat had done the same thing – and rearranged for Friday. When Friday came and Tosca was safely indoors, we were relieved. She hated being put into her basket and, as usual, moaned throughout the short car journey. Tosca had a fever and the vet found a nasty abscess, which she told us was from a cat bite. She found several bite marks and we have come to the conclusion it must have been a rather aggressive ginger tom who thinks he’s top cat in the village; he’s huge, threatening, and both Tosca and Luna are terrified of him. She cleaned out the abscess, gave Tosca two injections, a pain killer and antibiotics, and we took her home with more antibiotics and instructions to clean the wound with warm salt water.

Tosca is recovering very quickly; the wound is healing and last night she was curled up next to me on the edge of the bed. We can’t let her out, which has caused her some distress, as she loves running around the garden and climbing trees. She has dutifully used her litter tray and not complained too much. I will be happy when she is back out there, queen of the garden.