Pia

I know, I've been slack about blogging while so much bloggable lifespace has been drifting by, but today Pia went away and I think she deserves mention as she disappears from our home and our lives.

Pia is, of course, our cat. Well, sort of.

Back on day 1, when we signed on and moved into our new house, the very first local resident to welcome us home was Pia, waiting patiently on the verandah for her new family take possession, and responsibility. Our first reaction was a pleasant one: why not have a cat? In this, our new home, the foundation of our new family lifestyle, a pet would fit right in. She was certainly friendly. A more affectionate cat you won't find anywhere, and Kepler absolutely loved her.

When Eleonore came to show us how to run the house, she explained Pia's presence: apparently Pia had gone and gotten pregnant somehow (incredible, right?), and Eleonore hadn't wanted to stress her by moving her to an apartment in town. "If you woudn't mind, could you take care of her here until she has her babies? It should only be a couple of weeks. Then I'll come and get them all, and if you want a kitten, you can have your pick." Kind of sensitive, kind of cheeky, but really, we didn't mind. So Pia stayed.

But, it quickly turned out, Pia has fleas. And what's more, there's no way to treat a pregnant cat for fleas, since the neurotoxin that kills fleas also harms kittens. D'oh. So, although we had a very friendly cat, we suddenly didn't really want her on our laps, in our bed, or, really, around much. It's too bad, because as I said, she's about the friendliest cat you'll meet. But, we figured, it's only for a couple weeks.

So we fed her, and we petted her at arm's length, and we waited.

And we fed her alot, because she was pregnant. Alot and well. And we waited.

And weeks went by. And we started to have some doubts.

We did some online research into feline pregnancy. 63 days gestation. Very few signs of pregnancy. Difficult to diagnose without tests. Not much change in body shape or behavior. And so we waited. And more weeks went by.

At times, we did think she was pregnant, something about her body shape, or the amount she was eating, or how much she slept.

But as time passed we slowly came to the conclusion that Pia is not, in fact, pregnant at all. The few signs we can check for, ie enlarged pink nipples and golf-ball-sized babies within her, never materialized. What had occasionally passed as possible pregnancy in our eyes may have been a case of mere corporal satiety at all the good food we were giving her.

Why then, we wondered, did Eleonore leave her with us? Of course it's possible that she did indeed believe Pia to be pregnant, but why we would she have, with no apparent symptoms? Was she simply trying to unload her cat onto us? We offered on that first day to keep her, to which Eleonore responded that her son would certainly object to our doing so. So if she really didn't want the cat, she passed up an easy opportunity to get rid of her. And who would want to get rid of a cat as sweet as Pia?

Well, it turns out, we did. We do really like her. She's adorable, and sweet, and affectionate. She follows us everywhere, inside and out. She's an excellent tree-climber, and she even kills mice. And now that she's not pregnant, we could treat her for the fleas and happily keep her. Except that, in the end, we need the freedom to travel, to visit our families, for long periods of time. And her charm for Kepler has worn off a bit as well. Where he once patted and played with her, now he mostly likes to tell her where she's not allowed to go, which is, mostly, everywhere, because she has fleas. So Pia had to go.

Yesterday I phoned Eleonore, and explained Pia's phantom pregnancy. And today, Eleonore, surprised but resigned, came to collect her cat. Kepler was sad. And I think, a little, we all were. Cuddly cats are nice to have around. She's become part of our household, she was here from the first moment, and the house will feel a bit emptier for her loss. Maybe we'll keep one of her kittens... oh, right. She's not pregnant after all.

We'll miss you, Pia!