Thursday 30 August 2012

Ozzy

Just 10 weeks old and sleeping with his favourite toy - Mousey.
I just re-watched one of my favourite movies, Marley and Me. Although it's a dog movie, the end in particular (the generic ending to most dog movies) reminds me of when we had to say goodbye to Ozzy after his accident. One of the most horrible things I've ever had to do, and seeing him the way he was with his poor face was just heartbreaking. The last couple of days have really got me thinking about him for some reason, and even though it's been 2 years, I still miss him more than anything.

As much as I still can't get the image of him in his bed at the vet's in the cat ward, it's so much nicer to remember him as he was, playful, cute, pretty and just loveable. So after Marley and Me reminded me of him, I took the opportunity to write about him.

We got Ozzy when I was 13. After looking at a litter of 3 black kittens, I was about to choose one of them, when the owner brought out this beautiful little black and white kitten. He was only 6 weeks old, and usually most kittens can't leave their mother until 8 weeks, but the woman was happy to let us take him. Despite him being a little confused and crying for a bit, Ozzy settled in well and within the first few hours climbed into a cupboard and fell asleep on a pile of catalouges. I named him after one of my favourie movie characters: Osmosis Jones from that movie about a white blood cell cop.

Another special thing about Ozzy was that he was born on my birthday. While most people would think I'm over-reacting what with him being a cat, cat lovers would understand that after 6 years, they're not just pets. They become part of the family and it's so hard when you have to let them go.

As he got older Ozzy became a proper little character. He was funny, some of the positions he'd sleep in were adorably funny and he was so naughty at times. I remember the first Christmas we had him, his desire to constantly play with anything shiny and dangly had him pulling the tree down more often than not.

Just one of his positions he'd like to sit in
While some people would say that cats are selfish, this little guy was nowhere near. Whenever I was ill, he'd be there on my bed next to me. When I was upset, he'd be there at my feet looking up at me. The cutest thing though was how he'd wake me up in the morning before school. My Mum would get up and go downstairs to feed up, and she'd say "go get mummy up" and he'd run upstairs and jump on my bed, waking me up with loud purring and meowing. Although sometimes, he'd just curl up and fall alseep next to me.

Always Posing
Ozzy wasn't just a pet to me, he was so much more than that. He was loving and he was loyal. After a crappy day I'd come home, and he'd be there, waiting. I still love him and I miss him everyday. We lost him after he was hit by a car. Although he hung on for as long as he could, he lost his sight in one eye and lost the other completely, and his jaw was broken and he'd lost several teeth. Even his meow sounded different. I'll never forget how he looked when we said goodbye to him, and I remember how he still knew it was us when my Mum and I went to visit him and how he started purring and cuddled into us. He stuck around for 5 days before we lost him, and because he was unable to eat because of his jaw both the vet and my Mum didn't think it was fair to make him suffer anymore, especially seeing as he'd require constant care with feeding if he ever got better. After cuddling him and telling him how much we loved him, we said goodbye and he passed away peacefully. We lost him on the 29th of April 2010, 5 days before his 6th birthday and before my 18th birthday.

Even though he was so cruelly taken, as you can see I have some lovely pictures of him and I'll always have the memory of  his cute behaviours. And I know he's up there right now pulling down Christmas trees and eating whippy ice cream and curling up on one of my jumpers with Mousey.

Gone but never forgotten.
04.05.2004 - 29.04.2010.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Chamone Mother Plugger

Just a quick heads up that I have started a new blog. It can't be nice for someone without emetophobia to read several entries about emetophobia, so I've set up The Emetophobia Chronicles. Partly because it's easier for me to blog than talk to a professional, and because I really ought to be getting in touch with how this phobia affects me if I'm doing my dissertation on it.

So if the emetophobia entries piss you off, fear no more, as they're now on a completely different side of the internet. Sort of. Or if you enjoy learning about how an irrational fear makes me who I am, or you suffer from it yourself, it's all in a lovely little collection, just for you.

So, without further ado, I unveil The Emetophobia Chronicles. Enjoy.