Under the Death Tree
Our old 16 Werecat has been behaving in quite a disturbing manner in the past couple of months. She has staked out a spot under our dwarf cherry tree and other than food or toilet breaks, she spends the majority of each day in that spot.
Considering she has Alzenheimers we think it is remarkable that she manages to find her way there early each morning.
At first we thought it was just her way of making the most of the wonderful balmy weather we've had since late April, bathing her arthritic bones in the soothing summer warmth. However, since she also spent all last week in the same place, in the rain, we have now taken to calling it 'The Death Tree' and visualising old Eskimo grandmothers on ice floes.
One of our friends remarked that perhaps she has marked out her burial plot! * sob* Has anyone seen one of their elderly animals behave in this fashion?
The weather gave me a bit of a fright this week, our heatwave vanished and was replaced with clouds and rain. Happily I woke today to see clear blue sky. Welcome back and please ignore all those who complain about your glorious heat! Oh but do feel free to rain on our beautiful garden during the night so that we can continue to have beautiful flowers and fruit to enjoy.
18 reciprocal ramblings:
Odd kitty behaviour!
Our cat is strange. But loves it here in the countryside rather than the town of England.
Glyn
How strange. Our dog always sits where he can see as much as possible in as many directions as possible.
Hi Rachel
Yes very odd. She hasn't done this before this summer. She was quite happy to lie where ever she dropped in previous years.
Hi Glyn
They say all cats have Asperger's Syndrome. I am not surprised you cat loves the countriside, ours would too.
Hi Debs
Grumpy sounds very sensible!
Poor Werecat. Old cats do behave oddly though and she looks happy there, bless her x
I like the "burial plot" idea. Well I don't know if "like" is the right word, but there's a poignancy about it which has a gentle kind of appeal.
I only wish good things for Werecat though, and she looks lovely and full of spirit in the photo.
Haven't heard of this kind of behaviour before, but I know that many cats develop behaviours in later life which are odd, or at least seem that way to us.
Many cats merely disappear when it is time, and you never find their body. It's gut wrenching, because you don't get to bury them or even know whether they met a natural end. So it is good that Werecat has staked out a spot where you will FIND her if it comes to that . . . .
But I hope that it doesn't. I feel your pain - our 14 year old house puma is headed downhill, and I'm bereft.
You'll like this site:
http://fortheloveofbenchescontinued.blogspot.com/
Our old cat was in her 23rd year when she went over the Rainbow Bridge. For the last two years of being with us, when she went into the garden she liked to sit in a hole which the dogs had dug.
Bless, they do strange things in their senior years.
Strokes for Werecat
Pat
Sounds like my kind of cat! Maybe there's good vibes in that spot.
Hi Helen
She is happy except when she is having one of her 'funny' (not ha, ha) turns. Then she doesn't recognise us and is scared to bits poor old thing.
Hi Trousers,
I kind of 'like' it too. i suppose we would bury her there if we could be certain N3S wouldn't dig her up again. He loves her dearly and wouldn't be able to bear the idea of her being in the ground.
Hi Ina
She can't dissapear becuase we are walled in and she is too old to scale it. I can't think about ehr going down hill, it makes my gut wrench. So I don't...
Hi Rachel
I'll go have a look. Will I be jealous?
Hi Pat
We only seem to have wierd cats in my fmaily anyways but Werecat is nearly top of the family cat history wierd list! Rainbow bridge, I like that.
Hi Faith
Well if so why did she never 'tune' into them before? Mind you now that I think of it, Chopper has completly re-done the garden this year, alst year she used to sit near the apple tree (beside where she is now) and lay in a scallop of the flower bed. She has moved but not far.
The poor dear. It's not my cat, but I will feel a sense of wonder if it is her burial spot. Hugs to you, DJ.
Well, she looks happy enough!! Poor wee Werecat...try not to think sad thoughts and just give her lots of cuddles and treats!!
C x
Hi Gran
I know what you mean, she is one cool cat. With the best purr ever.
Hi Carol
I think she is... in her own psychotic way. A bonus of her growing into an old fogey is that she doesn't try to eat us anymore and we no longer wake to her purring ominously above our heads in the night, but only becuase she can't manage the stairs very well. Oh and speaking of which we were woken last night by Grumplestiltskin falling down the loft stairs! Now what on Earth was that all about?
Thanks for the award honey!! I shall add it to my blog now :-)
C x
Perhaps Werecat has found a good supply of low hanging birds.
Cats do odd things sometimes. One of our old ones has taken to howeling in the middle of the night, for no good reason.
DJ - poor old Werecat. It does sound like old cat behaviour to me sadly, maybe she's been feeling a bit under the weather? (sorry, didn't mean that to be funny....). I hope she'll be ok, sometimes older cats do odd things.
Claire P - that's classic old cat behaviour. When the head lion gets old and starts worrying about being replaced by younger lions he starts to assert his authority by getting up in the night and roaring... it must be something in cat DNA as domestic cats also demonstrate this behaviour. Ours does it and my parents' last elderly male did it as well. Doesn't mean they're about to go, Sammy's been at it for nearly two years!
Post a Comment