So, I’ve been putting off writing this post for exactly one year today.  In the fall of 2013 we got some bad news about our cat Pepsi.  They’d found a lump that turned out to be cancer and the operation to remove it was unsuccessful.  The mass had grown too large and entwined in his abdomen to take out.

We embarked on a fairly aggressive schedule of chemotherapy for him (yes, they do that for cats too!) and he responded remarkably well to the treatments.  Danni doted on him day and night hand feeding him to make sure he kept his strength up, and her efforts resulted in him gaining over a kilo while undergoing his chemo.  Our vet was amazed at his recovery and how fast his lump was shrinking, and it wouldn’t have been possible without such incredible, round-the-clock care from my wife (and a touch of help from this).

Unfortunately, after 6 months of excellent progress his cancer came out of remission and we had to say goodbye to Pepsi on May 15th, 2014.  I don’t want to talk at length about that day, but our vet came to our house and I got to sit on our bed in the sunshine and hold on to my best friend of the past 17 years while he peacefully slipped away.

Even now, a full year later I’m writing this with tears welling.

I’ve always thought of people so overly attached to their pets as a bit off, so if you’re reading this and not much of a pet lover allow me to try to explain where some of that attachment comes from.

For the entirety of my adult life, this “cat” has been my singular constant.  He joined my family shortly before I moved away from my home town for the first time to go away to college.  He’s been with me for every single move I’ve done spanning 5 cities, 3 countries and 2 continents.  He’s been there for every new job, ridden in every vehicle I’ve owned, met every girl I ever dated from my first real girlfriend all the way to my wife.  He was with me in every 4-plex, duplex, apartment, house and flat I’ve rented and he was with us when we celebrated purchasing our first home.

Every time I came home miserable from a bad day at work or arrived through the door elated to be back at the end of a long holiday, he would run to greet me with his quiet, chirpy meows and happy head-butts.  After the better part of 2 decades, not having him around now has left this perfect, cat sized hole in my life.

We’ve talked about getting a new furry friend, and we likely will someday.  We’re just not quite ready for that yet.  Part of me writing this has been a bit of a cathartic exercise to get these thoughts out of my head so I can let go of them, and while it’s taken several hours to write this short post I feel like it’s helped.

I think one of the big reasons I haven’t updated this site in so long was because I knew I had to write this post.  Hopefully now that I’ve managed to do this I can start paying some more attention to this site again!

We won’t ever really say farewell to our little man, and we miss him every day.

Just a quick shot of my cat Oswald.  He’s often willing to forego comfort for his (not infrequent) naps if the location he’s selected is warm enough, as is the case here.  He’s wedged himself between two sets of windows for his own personal little greenhouse.

No, I haven’t misspelled the old practice of map making.  I’ve been in a photographic slump for quite a while now; nothing seems to spark my interest or make me want to haul out my equipment and search for inspiration.  Maybe it’s the cold, wet weather we’ve been having?  But then, that’s the reason I bought my light tent so many months ago and it’s hardly been out of it’s case.

Maybe it’s something else.

Regardless of what it is, I’ve decided that it’s time to fix it.  Last night the boys were on the receiving end of my new found vigilance.  I’d say they were unhappy about it, but the only way to get a cat to stay in one place is to bribe them with treats.  A couple of Temptations and a few pinces of cat nip and it was time to pose.

There’s a couple more, including a set up shot in the gallery.

ps: after almost a year, my Week 4 photos from Tibet are online now.

I had a bit of a hectic weekend getting ready for Christmas, but I did manage to get a few shots off around the house.  It’s nothing too exciting, but they’re a bit festive at least.

I also got out the tripod and tried a shoot I’ve been thinking about for a while now.  The first attempt was ok, but I think I need to do it again during the day time to really get the effect I’m looking for.

Poor Oswald looks a bit nervous…

I’ve just realized that this site has been up and running for the better part of a year now and managed to avoid photos of my cats somehow.  In order to rectify that, here are a few of the boys and an album is set up here.