with some sadness....

...I must tell you that Willy is breathing his last.

He has been starting to grow on me over the last couple of weeks. He ran away that first weekend, but surprisingly, I was happy to have him return. And since then he has been trying hard to convince me that he is worthy of exploring the entire house. I haven't been letting him inside cuz there are some expats who don't like cats or have allergies. But last night I was starting to realize that it was becoming more and more difficult to restrict him to the outdoors.

I had a nice evening with him. I spent some time sitting out front chatting with Cyr, the guard, while Willy snuggled on my lap. But this morning I thought it was a bit odd that I didn't hear him meowing while I was doing yoga.

Then in the car on the way home for lunch, Roger, the driver, asked if it was true that Willy was dead?!?!

WHAT?!

When we arrived at the house I learned that Willy hasn't been well since this morning. The guards think it was probably something he ate while roaming about the neighborhood last night. There are stories that the neighbours leave out tainted fish to rid the area of too many cats.

So I don't expect him to still be around when I get home tonight.

That was short.

A CAT!

There have been a few times in my 43 years when I have thought it might be nice to have a cat for companionship. But it never takes long for me to come to my senses and realize that there just isn’t room in my life for a cat. And…. you know what people think…. that if a girl has a cat, she has definitely resigned herself to a long and lonely life collecting more and more cats, and then more and more plants, and lots of other things… but I won’t elaborate cuz I don’t want to offend anyone.

So, I have never had a cat, and it has been a long time since I have even had a plant. The biggest commitment I have been able to make is to lovely bunches of flowers, that demand nothing more than a couple of waterings, and then they are gone.

Until today.

I accepted to take a cat. His (her?) name is Willy. Our Chef de Mission and his family are leaving the country today, and nobody has expressed any interest in Willy. How could I say no?

After I had been left alone to think about this for a few moments, I ran after Philippe. Does the cat eat? Does it have a bed? What about the kitty litter?

Fortunately, I can leave the meal preparation to Evelyne. She takes very good care of me, so she will be great with the cat too I think. Altho at lunch she confessed that she knows no more than I do about cats, but she has a great attitude.

The bed – well, we’ll see if Willy shows interest in having one.

The kitty litter – again, fortunately for me, this is something the guards will take care of, with the sand and gravel from the road in front of the house.

But this is Friday, which means I am immediately thrust into a weekend alone with the cat. The guards are always around, but not Evelyne.

I am telling people that this is just a temporary thing, until I can find someone who really wants a cat.