Dear all, so sorry to hear about your lost friends. Hope your hearts are healing now.
It's been a strange few months since I last wrote on here. The first couple of months with a Dougal-free house was very difficult. It was all just too quiet. Tilly enjoyed the quiet then realised that I was hurting...and started to mother me. I would get washed, cuddled and even slapped when she thought I was not behaving properly (i.e. teasing her).
Shortly after that I found a lump on Tilly's side and took her to Mary the Vet. Mary thought that it was probably benign but offered to excise it and, just in case, get it tested. So Tilly went in for the op. Totally unfazed by it. She didn't even touch the stitches, she just cleaned the wound occasionally and it healed up beautifully. Just seemed a good excuse to pig out on chicken for a few days.
Thankfully the lump was benign.
I popped in to tell you about something strange going on. The other night I was fast asleep and dreaming. I suddenly snapped awake from the middle of the dream, wide awake and not knowing why. Held my breath to hear properly and looked around the room, and at the foot of the bed was a small black shadow - sitting next to Tilly and making little kitten noises to her. Tilly sniffed and then stood back and let the stranger to her food bowls. When I moved, he ran off - and kept coming back throughout the night.
This morning I went to put the rubbish out. Tilly followed me out but instead of going round the corner to the bins, she went to the hedge and miaowed. She was answered and a small fluffy black cat came out of the hedge. They walked down the path together and sat down a few yards from me, both looking at me.
I have a very funny feeling that Tilly wants me to help her friend, but I don't want to tread on a neighbour's toes and start making friends with a cat who "belongs" to someone else.