Poor Poor Pitiful Jimi

Oh no…!! I had to take Jimi to the veterinarian hospital, this afternoon. Last Saturday, I noticed he was suffering a bit from a swelling under a healed wound on his right paw. Today he stopped playing and wanted to be left alone. Just to be sure, I called for an appointment at the hospital.

Jimi doesn’t like the car rides as Mr. Bowie did. Bowie always enjoyed the car rides, even if it meant an irritating medical check up. Jimi’s medical check up all went well. It seems he was suffering from an infected wound. Jimi was treated with appropriate medication after they cleaned and disinfected the wound and the abscess. All should be well and healed very soon.

Afterwards, back home, Jimi needed to take some time to relax and recover from this first stressful event with his new human. I needed time to relax too. No espresso please, I’ll go for some dark chocolate…

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Higher Ground

What’s up, Jimi? Jimi is doing fine, but he wants my attention and food all the time. That’s why I gave him Skinny Jimi as nickname, because he needs to put on some weight. Mr. Bowie could disappear for hours or a day, but you knew he was around somewhere. I had time to read the newspapers, clean up the house or do anything I wanted to do. Ok, Mr. Bowie was 10 years old and a happy relaxed cat; Jimi is a young hyperactive cat who enjoys your attention and wants to play (and sleep) all the time. I have to keep this in mind and drink less coffee, I guess…

A few days ago I found Jimi on top of the bookcase. What happened, Jimi? Did you hear about the global warming and the sea level rise? Did you hear the Blonde Pillow Thief is back in town and wants to pay you a visit? Or did you want to check out Mr. Bowie’s safe shelter?

Jimi loves Mr. Bowie’s King size bed. It took Mr. Bowie almost a year before he decided to sleep in this luxurious cat bed. Jimi made up his mind from day one. If you’ll excuse me, I think it’s time for another espresso while Jimi’s asleep…

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

The Spirit of Mr. Bowie

Adapting to a new environment. Adjusting to a new home is never easy, but who is to say that it’s impossible? Jimi’s adjusting quickly to his new home. It almost seems an invisible force guides him, as if the spirit of Mr. Bowie guides Jimi in his new forever home. Sometimes I notice an astonishing resemblance with Mr. Bowie, but on other moments he reacts completely different. Well, I guess we have to get used to each other.

Meanwhile Jimi likes to keep me company while I’m working in the studio. He seems to like my musical projects but I had to turn down the volume. In fact, Jimi can complete a traineeship for the job of studio technician. He’s very interested in all the wires and cables and maybe he can hit some hot jazz notes too!

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

A Boy Called Misa

About. No data are available about Jimi. He’s a common domestic cat, also known as the European Shorthair. People say he got a touch of the Russian Blue cat breed. There’s even a distinct possibility Jimi was born in Turkey. The previous owner didn’t take the cat to a veterinarian for a medical check-up or vaccinations. Thank goodness Jimi was in good condition when he was brought to the shelter. The local vet estimated Jimi was born early September 2018 and wrote down ‘2018, September 1’ in the Date of Birth box on the registration papers.

Jimi Day 1

 

So far, the change in Jimi’s life went extremely smooth and did exceed my expectations. He was very cautious on the first day but seemed to trust my experience with cats. The second day he was walking around in every room to check out the interesting spots. On the third day it seemed as he lived here for years. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Okay, there was one minor thing, he got diarrhoea on the first two days. I called the vet and he told me to change his food for a few days and give Jimi a gastrointestinal diet food. The problem was already solved the next day, it’s also possible it was stress related.

Jimi Day 2

 

I had two cat names in mind for a shelter cat before I found Jimi: Kiki for a female cat and Iggy for a male cat. Jimi’s original name was Misa. Someone told me the name Misa (a baby name for girls) means ‘Beautiful Bloom’ and is of Japanese origin. In the beginning it sounded good to me. But the first day I met Misa in the shelter I was wearing my Jimi Hendrix t-shirt. Driving back home I suddenly decided to call him Jimi if I could adopt him. So now we share the same family name. You know, it was probably the result of a coincidence, in the mood of the moment.

Jimi Day 3

 

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Welcome Home, Jimi!

New kid in town. Okay, I feel guilty towards Bowie and towards what I said in my previous post. I didn’t planned to adopt another cat so soon, especially a young one. But sometimes you just can’t control the way your life goes. Let me explain… 

I contacted a few local cat shelters to ask them if I could donate Mr. Bowie’s special diet food, medicines, hygiene products and other stuff. When I was checking out their websites I noticed a message about a 1 year old grey male cat who was dropped off in the shelter. The owner of the cat moved to a foreign country and didn’t care about his cat. The little one needed quickly a forever home because he was too anxious at the shelter. I decided to visit the cat. Much to my surprise the little cat immediately walked towards me. The other cats in the room weren’t interested in me. The little grey one started to rub his head on me and I could pet him. Maybe it’s a bit weird, but I felt some kind of connection. My heart melted and I decided to fill in the adoption papers. After a few days they called me and said I could adopt the cat. I was in cat heaven.

Jimi in the shelter

 

So welcome home, Jimi! Glad you decided to pick me. Let’s hope we get along and will be best friends forever. Now let’s take it easy and get to know each other better. I’ll keep posting on the blog and talk about my new adventures. And I’ll keep on talking about Mr. Bowie. We will never forget him.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Leaving Home, Coming Home

Bowie is back home. I picked up his ashes at the crematorium. The manager also gave me a condolence card with Bowie’s personal paw print in black inkt and a little box with some small tufts of Bowie’s fur. I went for an individual cremation, it’s a bit more expensive than a ‘group’ cremation but hey, now I’m sure it’s Mr. Bowie who returns to my home, to his home. And Bowie deserves to come back home for giving me so much love all these years.

I placed the urn in the bookcase of the living room.  The house still feels so empty and silent. I miss my friend so much. You know that one day your pet will die, but Bowie passed away too soon. I don’t know if I’m ready for another cat soon but I think I would try to save an older cat from a local shelter to give it a forever home.

I was pleasantly surprised after reading all your heartwarming words of comfort. I didn’t expected the farewell post would create such impact and sadness to all my followers and visitors. Reading so many comments from all over the world… It comforts me to know Bowie was loved by so many people. It comforts me to know that people found strength to go on after reading posts on the blog. It comforts me knowing that people started smiling after reading a post. It comforts me knowing Bowie made people feel better.

Daydreaming in the bookcase. One of the last photographs of Mr. Bowie.

 

I don’t know what will happen with this blog but I will keep it online. Maybe I still got many stories to tell, many photographs to show. Unfortunately, the stories will be in the past tense. Maybe it’s not a bad idea to write a few posts every month. For now, I will be taking it slowly I guess… 

I want to thank you with all my heart. All your heartwarming comments made me feel better and helped me get through these empty and sad days. I sincerely apologise for not replying to your comments.

Farewell, My Sweet Mr. Bowie

Bowie, º May 19, 2009 – † September 11, 2019. It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of Bowie. Bowie passed away at noon. He has been suffering from kidney problems and aggressive blood cancer over the last weeks. Unfortunately, nobody saw or noticed any symptoms on time, due to his other medical issues. Bowie was hospitalised for 3 days and thoroughly examined. The results were dramatic and I was in shock. The veterinarian said it was better to put Bowie to sleep and avoid any unnecessary suffering, pain or distress. Bowie passed away peacefully while I was holding him gently in my arms.

 I am honoured and privileged to have spent 10 years of my life knowing and having Bowie as my beloved friend. I will always remember the last warm days we shared this summer, sitting on the wooden bench outside in the garden and enjoying the evening sun. 

My sadness over missing you leaves me numb and unmotivated. You were an important part of my life. I can’t see or hear you anymore, but it doesn’t mean you’re not here. I like to believe you are somewhere very, very near. I love you so much but it’s time to say: Goodbye my dear Friend. Thank you for coming into my life and giving me joy. Thank you for loving me and receiving my love in return. Rest in peace, Bowie. I’m sure that you are in a better place where there is no pain or discomfort. Sleep well, my sweet friend. Until we meet again, somewhere, sometime.