I've been putting this particular topic off for a long time.
Mainly due to the pain all of this has caused me.
My cat suddenly suffered a series of strokes in 2024. That was one day after I adopted a new cat, now maned Mochi, who was intended to be his companion.
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| He liked to claim dirty laundry as his fortress |
Mochi was originally named Ember. I ordinally intended to rename her George, but that didn't fit. Neither did Mitternacht or Luna. Luna almost worked, as I am a huge fan of Sailor Moon. Her personality fit Usagi more than Luna. I remembered Usagi asking if there truly was a rabbit making mochi on the moon after finding out she was a princess. Mochi it was! She's Mochi-colored (plum flavored) and she likes to make mochi (biscuits).
She's such a sweetheart. I wanted a black kitty all my life and she was the first black kitty at the adoption even to want to get out of her cage and be with me. The second her cage was opened, she slid out to rub up against me and my husband. We were already loved.
Unfortunately, the adoption event was held by an adoption agency known for racism, sexism, and much more useless verification and paperwork than usual. It took hours to fill out everything and relatives needed to show up and my dad had to convince them out SSNs were not needed for a cat.
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| No, she's not fat. According to the vet, she's a healthy blob. |
Ember took about fifteen minutes to decide she preferred her new home to being in a crate at an adoption agency all day, every day. She then wanted out of the room she was held in and into the rest of the house.
There were two issues with that plan.
First, she was supposed to be a friend of Ajani, the cat I already owned. I had rubbed a blanket on Ember and gave it to Ajani. I rubbed another on Ajani and gave it to Ember, so they could recognize each other as friends before meeting.
Unfortunately, Ajani suffered a series of strokes the next day. He was supposed to be allowed into the room right next to Ember's so they cold sniff each other and touch paws. But his legs topped working well. He kept falling over as he walked. And then things got worse. I stayed up for 26 hours holding him and...
Writing about the end is too painful still. It's been a year and it hurts too much.
Ember was allowed out into the rest of the house while we were deciding on a name. Now, Mochi is a larger cat than the others and she was two while they were in their late teens. They hissed at her and she just let out a mew of 'but I just got here'. I ended up having to protect a 25-pound cat who had just gotten out of kittenhood from two tiny elders.
And then 2025 happened.
Yeah, I know, politics just kept ruining things. That was just the burnt edges of the disaster cake. On Fridays I would go grocery shopping with my father. One Friday, I waited for too long. My sister, who had gone No Contact with me, show up (with a key to a house she no longer lived in)to tell me my father was in the ICU.
It was three days until we knew the cause: hyponatria AKA a severe lack of sodium.
My father was in the hospital for two weeks. They would not let him leave. After a lengthy discussion, My sister and I decided to trade houses. Money is tight now as this has to be the worst year to suddenly buy groceries. At least rent is decent and not subject to the whim of someone's greed because they want to live in Instagram.
Well, here I am, and somewhere close is Mochi, wandering around and knowing she owns the place. Of course she owns it; I just rent to live here.
I'm still hoping that someday I can own a small farm. What I can't eat (and I weigh 71 pounds) would go directly to food pantries.
Yes, that is my ultimate goal: a small farm to keep people fed. I intend to sell some food, such as tea, curd and marmalade, preserves, and pickles. I'd sell farm-to-table if I can, but I'd still donate to food pantries.
Where? Canada. If I can get help. So far, I cannot. Immigration does not offer help for aspiring farmers.
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