Until we meet again Kaylee...

She was never meant to be my cat but on the day she came home with us she came and slept beside me when we went to bed. I think she bonded with me in those first few hours. I taught her to fetch. I crumpled up the silver paper from Kit Kat wrappers into a little ball and from our bed I could throw the ball so that it rolled downstairs and into the hall. She would fetch the ball and drop it back on the bed three or four times in succession, until she tired of the game and then I'd have to retrieve the ball. When I had surgery on the base of my spine and was finally able to sleep when the stiches came out, she curled up on my back and people who saw her said she was protecting me. She loved chicken and would take it from my fingers very gently without biting me. When people came round to house she would put on what were referred to as "sickening" displays of affection; jumping up on to my lap, nudging me with her nose, butting me with her head, purring lovingly. When we spent the evening quietly watching TV she would curl up and give me the most adoring looks, laying the back of her head on my chest and making googoo eyes at me. When I arrived home from work she would go into her "I'm beautiful" routine, displaying herself by stretching out and rolling, waiting for me to acknowledge her with a "yes, sweetheart, you are beautiful".

Yesterday, we had to take Kaylee to be rehomed. She couldn't take the stress of not being an only cat (we have two other cats) and cats in the neighbourhood coming to the front and back doors were slowly driving her nuts. We've taken vets advice, advice from cat behaviourists and advice from the RSPCA. Nothing worked. We've been trying to solve the problem for about two years. It was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever had to do. I'm not ashamed to say that I cried all the way home from the shelter. I just hope that what we have done will give Kaylee the chance of a life without stress.

Yes, sweetheart, you are beautiful. Until we meet again Kaylee, know that I'll think of you every day.

Scoble Wins!

Have you tried FlickrTagFight ? It's a very nice use of the Flickr API to measure the relative use of two tags on Flickr. There are some predefined fights such as Man vs. Woman or Good vs. Evil. Or you can specify your own fight.

Scoble versus Orlowski....Scoble wins!