DeKatboks

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Katstories deur die jare

Daar is min dinge wat my so vinnig keyboard toe dryf as verlange.  Na my man, my sussa, my oorlede ouers, broer, suster, my seuntjie...

Ek sukkel soms om te praat.  Maar skryf, dis my uitlaatklep.  Ek is nie 'n skrywer, 'n author nie.  Ek babbel net.  Maar dit help.

Ek het destyds in NZ begin, toe ek so verlang het net na ons ge-emigreer het.  En toe my katte dood is, dit was moeilik, Pepper en Maya is 8 dae na mekaar dood.  Ek wonder nog steeds of katte selmoord kan pleeg...

Hier is hulle storie.

Tribute to Pepper & Maya - A tale of two kitties

This is a very sad story, about two kitties who loved each other too much.

After we moved to New Zealand, I was going out of my mind with stress, and being a cat addict, missed having one to cuddle. I advertised in the local paper for a siamese girl, always having favoured orientals. Next thing I knew, a lady brought me a kitty, but "he" looked nothing like what I wanted. He was a tabby boy, but his mum was a Siamese lady with absolutely no taste in tomcats. It was love at first sight, he was such a charmer, and on the inside pure siamese.

Three months later a siamese breeder I initially contacted, phoned me to say she has kittens. I could not afford it at the time, and she offered me adoption of the 3 year old mummy-cat, whom she wanted to retire. We renamed Mai Ling to Maya, Queen of the Ancients. Her adjustment was a story of blood and tears, and one for another day. But eventually Pepper decided enough was enough, and went into my room and chased her out. She was not immune to his charms either.

In the beginning she played hard to get, and more often than not Pep would be at the receiving end of a whack or a scratch and hiss, depending on Her Highness' mood. But he persisted, and she capitulated. They became Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra... they became Pepper and Maya!

He showed her the great outdoor litterbox, aka the beach, on the other side of the garden. He raced with her through the garden, and up and down the palm tree. Together they enjoyed the sunspots in the house, on the deck and of course the beach. They always, without fail, followed us to the beach when we went for a swim, play or sleep or just wait for us by the stairs. They would race through the sand, roll in it and at a far-off, hidden corner, use it as a litterbox. And when they were tired of playing, they would sleep in a hollow tree hide-out covered by flax bushes.

Then came April 2, 2003, the sad day we found Pepper outside by the stairs. He was hurt and could not make it up, and he died there. Maya went with us to a special little spot to bury him. That was the last time she went to the beach. She missed him, and searched for him, and called him endlessly. Now she was scared to go out alone. She only went outside to do her potty, and she did not want to play. She would just lie there, in their favourite spots, or in their spot next to my pc screen. We were still battling to cope with with this grief, when we discovered another to deal with. Exactly 8 days after Pepper's journey to the Rainbow Bridge, Maya followed him.

We will never know why she went to the roadside that morning. She was a tense, scared kitty, and petrified at the mere sight of the busy road.  She never, ever went close to the road. What made her go there?

Did she follow Peppers scent-trail? Did Pepper come back to take her with him? Or was the heartache and missing too much for her to handle? So many questions, and no answers. Just the missing, the terrible emptiness, the physical pain of losing my furry children.

They are together again, their bodies side by side on their beloved beach, their souls free to play again on the sand and in the trees, in safety this time, where nothing can hurt them.

I love you, my kitties, my Pepper and Maya. You will always have a very special place in my heart.... together, side by side, as always.

In Loving Memory of Pepper & Maya