No run today, as my usual Friday-day-off. But with the extra minutes I thought I'd share something that has been going on in my life the past 3 months. It's the internet, and neither you nor I have to be embarrassed or uncomfortable if I start crying. ;)
Anyone who has read my blog for a while has heard about many of the adventures of my Bengal cat Dandelion, aka Danny, aka The Cat Who Must Be Obeyed. It's time for me to share that he is gone, probably forever.
I don't remember how much of the summer events I shared, but we had some incidents with him disappearing for great lengths of time. During that time I tried for about 6 weeks to keep him inside. He was miserable and drove us all crazy with howling and peeing. After a long talk with my vet, we decided to let him out again.
Then these raccoons started coming around. They were actually in my house once, and I caught them at the cap flap outside as well. Danny was pretty freaked and would no longer come in the cat flap. We obeyed his new command to be let in and out the front door whenever he chose.
Towards the end of summer, he went out and did not come back. Later that week, the following note was posted on our community website bulletin board, about a little black and white cat - not mine - who was attacked:
"As a follow-up warning to the last posting about the raccoons attacking the cat in our yard, it is worth noting that these raccoons were, without a doubt, hunting this cat to kill it. They were also very persistent and unafraid of my intervention. With me standing near the badly injured cat (brandishing a broom handle and flashlight), they repeatedly tried to attack the cat from different sides. Were I not concerned for the cat (and this not very loud and in my yard in the middle of the night), it was interesting and seemed similar to the way that lions or other pack hunters bring down their prey. The point is this: raccoons on the Ridge are hunting cats (and maybe small dogs), so keep yours inside at night if you want to keep them."
Danny is gone, and the raccoons are also gone. It has been agony not knowing what happened to Danny, and imagining the worst. On top of the worry, I am constantly missing him. He was the most affectionate, most endearing cat I've ever had. One of my favorite memories of Danny is how he seemed to know when I would come home from my runs on weekdays: he would "ambush" me from my neighbor's bushes and then jog the last little bit by my side, purring his little head off the whole way.
A couple of weeks ago, I was missing Danny and went to a local cat show just to be around some Bengals. I also wanted to meet some breeders. I knew I wanted to have another Bengal in my life, and was thinking I might be ready by Spring. But being around cats and being crazy-lonely for a cat you once had has a way of skewing fate…. Next week I will be getting another Bengal. He could never "replace" Danny of course. But I am so excited, and I feel like an ache is finally going to subside. The circumstances of me getting this new Bengal are complex and probably boring, so I'll just say that I got really lucky.
For a glimpse of what I've been missing, and will soon have back, watch A Day in the life of Bengal Cats. (Keep in mind as you watch that these are not kittens; Bengals are that playful for their entire lives.) This one is good too: 20 Bengal cat games.
In memory of Dandelion, the best cat I ever had. 
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