Catching Up

Apologies again for the lack of communication.  Life has been pretty steady lately and I haven’t been spending much time writing. Not to mention that we consistently exceed our monthly upload/download limits with our internet service provided and get bumped down to cable modem speed internet for a week or so mid-month. That makes for very painful internet browsing and photo uploading so I tend to avoid it altogether. But we’re back in business for another few weeks.

On May 17th our beasts were finally freed from Australian quarantine. Phil and I drove to Wentworth Falls on Friday night, spent the evening at a crazy old hotel and then popped into Sydney early Saturday morning to pick up the girls. The quarantine station was very efficient and we had the cats and paperwork sorted before they were even scheduled to open at 10am.  Pekoe and Pixel didn’t seem impressed to be in their kennels, and despite my hesitation Phil let them wander through the vehicle for most of the drive. They were quite content to sleep on the floor for the first couple hours. They didn’t have much to say and seemed really tired. So we let them relax.

I dropped Phil off in Bathurst at 1pm just in time for him to play his rugby game and the weather to turn bad for the remainder of my drive. It was cold (to the point of snow) and rainy for the remaining two hours to Forbes. Pixel started to perk up and was desperate for attention the whole way home, crawling on my lap and nuzzling my ear. As soon as we arrived home I put the cats back in their kennels, carried them into the house and released them. Their reaction was priceless. They both dove out of their kennels immediately and started roaming around the house. They seemed to recognize the furniture and I watched as they progressively relaxed and became happier. Pekoe immediately took to our bed and started rolling around.

She also spent some time on the dining room chairs where Jeeling used to lay. The girls seemed to be looking for something and I wonder if they were trying to find their missing sister. They settled in quickly, were excited to have their old food back, found the litter box and immediately became huge sucks. They’ve been incredibly affectionate all week. They are back to their old selves and just want to be loved all the time. I’m so glad Pekoe is over her depression. The house finally feels right again.

My work week has been a bit crazy. On Monday the former Environmental Superintendent from Hemlo spontaneously showed up at my office in the middle of our weekly meeting. It was great to see him and Phil and I ended up doing dinner with him and his fellow travelers in West Wyalong that evening. Tuesday wasn’t much better as we had a couple of consultants to entertain. One of them was Canadian and we spent a lot of time talking about Toronto, moving to Australia and cats. It’s always nice to have Canadian visitors. The rest of the week has flown by. Phil and I are scheduled to do training on native wildlife rescues this weekend. The Platypi are scheduled to play against Parkes and we’re hoping our friend Angus will be down for the game.
 
On another note, I have finally managed to make some plants grow in our sunless house. I bought a Christmas Cactus a few weeks back and am excited to report that it’s blooming like crazy at the moment.

My View From the Road

During my 200+ kilometer daily commute to/from work I see some pretty interesting things. Floods, kangaroos, livestock road blocks, sunrises, sunsets, funny signs and never ending grasslands are just a few of the image-worthy moments I encounter on a daily basis. Since I’m hesitant to drag my SLR with me to work each day I decided to purchase a new point and shoot camera to motivate myself to better document our time in Australia. My last point and shoot (a versatile and sturdy Fuji) bit the bullet after I dropped it on the ground shortly before departing Marathon in December. Last week my new Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 arrived in the mail (courtesy of yet another sweet Ebay deal) and I was off to the races. The camera boasts and incredible wide angle lens and 10x zoom. It’s perfect for landscape shots and will be great in a social setting. It hasn’t left my backpack since it’s arrival and I am glad I had it on me this week to capture some incredible moments from the road. I look forward to regaling you with images and tales of rural New South Wales!

May 15/08
They weren’t kidding when this sign was installed. During my first week of driving from Forbes to Lake Cowal, it rained nearly every day and turned this road into a lake of its own. I’m still not sure how I made it to work without stalling the vehicle in the middle of the lake like many others did that week. I have since learned a few important detours to take during we weather.

May 15/08
A common sight along my route. Wire fences and very thirsty grass.

May 20/08
There aren’t often clouds in the sky, but when there are the sunsets are spectacular. This one caught my eye in the rear view mirror on my way home.

May 21/08
Early morning fog is becoming more prevalent as it gets cooler during the evenings. The bands of moisture look incredible across the farm fields.

Saying Farewell to Little Jeeling

Phil and I said good-bye to our beloved cat Jeeling suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday May 5, 2008. Her departure has left a hole in our little family that will never be filled.

Jeeling first entered my life when I rented a room at her owner’s house during my second year of University. I had never owned a cat before but was immediately won over by the personalities of her and her litter mate Pekoe. When the girls’ owner moved to Australia in 2003 she asked if I would adopt the cats. Although my place of residence didn’t allow pets, Phil (ever the animal lover) jumped at the opportunity to take them in. The girls became residents of the infamous apartment 211 in Toronto where they became icons of RCCs party scene. Jeeling kept the boys entertained with her mad McDonald’s french fry stealing skills and box-squashing, fat-cat attitude. When Phil and I got our first apartment together in Toronto, Jeeling and Pekoe really started to feel like family. In October 2004 we introduced another beast to our brood and things finally felt complete.

After living in Toronto for two years we uprooted to Marathon where our happy kitty family of three spent a few years learning to love the great white north. When we decided to make the move to Australia at the end of 2007 the girls were taken in by Phil’s mom, brother and Max the cat.

We debated for months about what to do with the cats when we moved. Knowing we would be in Australia for a few years made it difficult to justify leaving them in Canada. However we were extremely hesitant about moving them because of the long flight, arduous quarantine restrictions and high cost. But we weighed the options and decided it was the only way to go. The girls had to spend five months in Canada before coming to Australia. We were extremely fortunate to have Fiona’s love and support during that time. It was a great comfort knowing they were in such good hands. After a long two days of travel, the fleet finally arrived safe and sound in Sydney on April 17th. They moved into Eastern Creek Quarantine Station in Sydney where they were assigned their own carer and given full medical attention. Knowing that they had survived the flight and immediate shock of their new surroundings made us believe that the hardest part of the process was over.

We couldn’t have been more wrong.

Jeeling was found in her kennel cold, blue and barely breathing on Monday morning. It was Pekoe’s 9th birthday. Jeeling had just celebrated her birthday one week earlier. They were only 12 days away from coming home with us to Forbes. She was whisked off to the vet and treated immediately for what they think was heart disease. She had fluid in her lungs and couldn’t breathe without an oxygen mask. I was off work attending to a variety of appointments and when Phil and I received word later in the day that our baby wasn’t improving we rushed to Sydney to be with her.

Unfortunately we didn’t leave soon enough. Jeeling passed away at 6:10pm just 150km into our 400km drive to Sydney. The vet had been attempting to move her via ambulance to a 24-hour emergency clinic but the trauma of the move was too much for her body to handle in such a fragile state. She had a carer by her side the whole time and we were told that she seemed very at ease. My biggest regret is not being there with her in her final moments. We last saw her alive when we visited the girls at the quarantine station on April 24th.

We spent Monday night in Sydney and I awoke on Tuesday morning in the grip of an anxiety attack like I experienced when we first moved to Australia. I had been crying non-stop since leaving Forbes and couldn’t contain myself. I didn’t want to go to the vet. I didn’t want to see Jeeling’s body. I didn’t want to face the day. There was no denial, only guilt.

We visited the vet first thing in the morning where they explained what had gone on and what the likely diagnosis was. They were incredibly supportive and accommodating. We’re lucky Jeeling had been in such good hands. We spent as much time as we could with her, said good-bye and settled our bill. We had to see Pixel and Pekoe more for our sake then theirs. We headed to the quarantine station which was also very accommodating and let us in hours before regular visiting time. We spent a good hour with the girls. We moved Pixel into the kennel that Pekoe and Jeeling had shared. I’m glad they have each other but wonder if Pekoe knows what happened. Did she know Jeeling was in trouble on Monday morning? Did she try call for help? Does she understand that Jeeling is gone? Will she carry on happily without her beloved litter mate?

It’s truly amazing how an animal can touch your life and how quickly things can change. If Jeeling did have a heart problem it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. But that doesn’t make it any easier. I still wish I could have seen her one last time. I wish I could have been by her side while she struggled. I wish we had known before the move that she had a problem. I hope she wasn’t scared. I hope she wasn’t in pain. And I hope more than anything that she knew we were there and loved her, despite the craziness she’s endured over the past nine months.

Jeeling was always the quirkiest of our three-cat parade. We will certainly miss her antics, and waking up in the morning will never be the same without her licking plastic bags or breathing in my face to get breakfast. JJ will probably be remembered most for her skittishness, love of food, ability to take up most of a queen size bed, fear of travel and lack of grace. She thoroughly enjoyed rolling in piles of dirt and jumping into walls. And who could forget how she could squeeze into the smallest cardboard box in any room?

Just to make things seem a little less real, Pekoe and Jeeling’s previous owner Anne, who has been trying to get in touch with me for months, finally got an e-mail through to my work address on Tuesday morning. She is still in Australia and after hearing that we were bringing the cats with us was anxious to see them. It’s sad that I had to break the news of Jeeling’s passing to her and I think she was as distraught as I am. That crazy cat touched more than a few lives and was loved by all. She was there for some of the most challenging, exciting and memorable times of my life. I’ve cried a million tears and I’m sure there are a million more to come. She will be missed.

Jeeling: April 28th 1999 – May 5th 2008