The Kindness Of People

Something truly amazing happened 2 nights ago on Facebook (of all places lol)!!! But before I go into it, I will tell you what happened that led up to the event. As you know, at the end of last week we had to put our poor old boy Binx to sleep. Well at the start of the week I saw a free cross stitch chart on Facebook, it was of a brown cat sitting on a fence. It was just a simple chart, but when I saw it I thought to myself that I should get it and re-colour it to make it look like Binx, because straightaway it reminded me of him. Little did I know that later in the week we would lose him. :( 

By now you probably know where this story is going.... When I first saw the chart I didn't click on it, I was busy doing something else. I was going to come back to it, I didn't - I completely forgot. It wasn't until the night that we had Binx put to sleep that I remembered the chart, by now about 4 days had passed since I saw it and I now wanted it more than ever. I didn't just want it now because it had initially reminded me of Binx, I wanted it because the cat in the chart was sitting facing away so you could only see its back. It made me think that the cat in the picture was looking off into the distance, into the unknown, into its future... 

So I began scrolling backwards through my timeline hunting for this chart. I couldn't find it. I contacted a couple cross stitching friends to ask if they had shared or liked it and none of them had. I Googled everything I could think of to try and find this chart, I had no idea what the title was or who created it. I used every keyword related to cats and fences I could think of and I came up with nothing. 

So 2 nights ago I joined a couple of Facebook cross stitch groups. I introduced myself and I explained to the group members of the chart I was looking for and why I wanted it so badly. I asked that if anyone had seen it, or knew the title or designer I would be so appreciative. 

Bang! 92 people commented on my post! 3 people sent me charts asking 'Is this the one you're looking for?' I could not believe it! All 3 charts were it! 1 woman who's a cross stitch designer in America, even sent me a message asking me to send her a photo of Binx, and she would make a chart of him for free! I was so blown away!! Seriously, honestly..... I did not expect this response! I am still getting messages today from people who I do not know, expressing their condolences for Binx and telling me how happy they are that I was able to find this chart. I spent the entire night talking and thanking people online for their kindness.

Part of my introduction to the groups was explaining that although the cat in the chart was brown and Binx was black, I had planned on re-colouring it so it resembled him. I also mentioned that since he had to be put to sleep I wanted to stitch it in his memory. As the night went on and people saw my post and saw that the chart had been found and sent to me, they've sent more messages saying that they want to see the finished piece, re-coloured and in memory of Binx.

This is the chart, like I said it's just a simple one but for some reason when I saw it I thought of Binx. All I have to do now is find the time to re-colour it before stitching it. It's strange that I saw this chart of a cat looking off into the distance, facing away, and then what followed. I wonder what this cat is looking at or where it's looking or what it can see? The Rainbow Bridge perhaps?

If anyone else is interested in stitching this piece it's called 'On The Fence' and was designed by Durene Jones. She has the full chart available for free on her her Facebook page along with other charts that she has designed. You can find it here.

As I sit here writing this blog post, I still cannot believe how many people responded to my post on Facebook. These people didn't have to reply or send me the chart. The people who didn't know of the chart didn't have to reply to a complete stranger who just joined their group, and pass on their condolences - but they did. We live in a world that can be a bit crappy sometimes, but every now and then something happens and you really see the good in people.

Rest In Peace Little Mate

Binx

Sadly on the 29th May we had to have Binky (aka Binx) put to sleep, he was almost 14 years old. He had started urinating in strange places. It started with him peeing outside of the kitty litter tray, we thought maybe they had changed the litter ingredients so we tried another brand and he did it again. We read online that sometimes cats won't use a tray if it smells of ammonia, so we bought a new tray and it made no difference. Then he urinated in the garage on my tools and in their food bowls. This was out of character for him as he had never done this, he had always been a very clean cat. 

Binx and Kali

So my wife took him to the vet. The vet told her that he had diabetes and treating him for this would be hard, as he would have other issues like kidney failure and his age wasn't on his side, she also said it was quite costly. The vet said that putting him to sleep would be the best option for him and that to be kind we should make the decision within 1 week, I should also mention that she did say that if he were younger she would encourage treatment. My wife brought him home and told me what the vet said. We agreed there and then that we would have him put to sleep the next day, as we didn't want to prolong any discomfort he might be experiencing as cats are notorious for hiding pain. My wife rang the vet clinic and made the appointment for the next day.

That night I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that we would have to euthanise Binx because he was diabetic. I kept thinking that we don't euthanise humans that are diabetic!! I was so completely stuck! I felt that my mind was at a road block and I couldn't figure out how to get around it, this isn't a normal feeling for me as I can usually find my way out of any negative or puzzling situation. All night long I just read and read online about diabetes in cats. I didn't read airy fairy pages - I read veterinary websites with solid scientific based information. I read that if a diabetic cat is fed a high protein - low carb diet along with insulin treatment there is a possibility that they could go into remission.    

Binx and Spike

I latched onto this tiny glimmer of hope and told my wife what I had read. I told her that I just couldn't have him put to sleep without at least trying to do something! My conscious just wouldn't allow me. I didn't know how much 'costly' meant, but I wanted to at least try. So we agreed to speak to the vet about possible treatment. 

When we were called into the treatment room, I began by explaining to the vet what I had read on reputable websites regarding a change of diet combined with insulin treatment. I asked her if there was any chance that his diabetes could be treated this way? After asking her this, I saw the look on her face and I knew that I was grasping at straws, but I couldn't help it, I couldn't let go. She replied that he could, but there were no guarantees that it would work. She also said that he would need his blood sugar levels taken a number of times a day and given that he would hate it, he most likely wouldn't come home or inside as often, and keeping track of his insulin levels would be hard for us and harmful for him. She also reiterated that his age was a problem and that his kidneys most likely wouldn't cope. 

She told us that she would give us a moment to discuss the situation and she stepped out of the room. I knew what we had to do. I just couldn't say it. My wife and I agreed that for his sake, we had to let him go.

The vet returned and we told her that we had decided it was kinder for him to let him go. She took him away to insert the cannula and brought him back to us. We said our goodbyes and stayed with him till the end. We opted to have Binx cremated and he'll come home to us this week.

Binx

Having pets is hard, they can't tell you what's wrong, if they feel sick or where it hurts. You also have to know when enough is enough whether you want it to be or not. You have to know when to let go even when it hurts like crazy and you can't get the words out. Knowing in your mind is hard enough, but actually verbalising out a loud that you've decided your pet has to be put to sleep, is one of the hardest things in the world.

Rest In Peace Binx. We're so sorry you were sick and we didn't know. We miss you and we love you, as do your furry brothers and sisters. We know that you'll be waiting for us at The Rainbow Bridge where we'll meet again.

The Rainbow Bridge Poem

Storms And Colds

So what's been happening that's kept me away from Blogger? lol Where do I start? Okay so not long after my last post, the area I live in had the worst storm ever and it lasted 3 days! It was classed as a category 2 cyclone! I don't live in a tropical region, so cyclones technically shouldn't occur. I have never experienced anything like it in my life! I've seen on the news when tornadoes go through in America, and the people have those bunkers because they live in a region prone to such storms, and I often wonder how they keep wanting to live in those areas? After the storm we had, one was enough! I don't think I could live somewhere that had these storms/cyclones frequently!

We lost power for 3 days, the home phone for a week, our garage was flooded and rain was constantly blown in, around and under doors in our house, and we had some damage to our fences. We still had running water and gas so we were able to cook and wash. Mind you - when I say 'wash' lol I mean heating large pots of water on the stove and pouring them into the bath, as the gas water system has an electric ignition lol When the power came back on, you've never seen someone so happy to have a shower! Having a bird bath just isn't the same lol.

Others weren't so lucky, some lost power for more than a week, some lost the roof off their homes..... Others lost their entire home and sadly some lost their lives. Roads were closed in some areas due to power lines across roads, trees across roads or flooding. 

The news constantly told people to stay off the roads unless it was absolutely necessary. Guess what? I had to go out lol My shop is open 7 days a week and I have an online store. I only closed the shop for 1 day, but people from other states were still ordering products online. I took the photo above when I was on my way to the shop to fulfill an online order. I'm lucky I drive a SUV so the water wasn't an issue for me, but some cars that drove through this had water above the bottom of their doors. It also amazed me that people didn't slow down. One my way back home a woman in a small car raced into the water behind me.... Given that my car was much higher than hers she copped a huge wave of water over the bonnet and windscreen.... She slowed down after that.

So after the clean up, including drying my garage out all seemed to be good. Then about a week later it rained again and I heard something dripping!!! I checked all the taps and couldn't find where it was coming from, then I looked into the garage and discovered that water was dripping through a small hole in the gyprock ceiling just centimetres from my kiln. The garage was flooded again. We had a builder come out to check the damage, and it turned out that the wind from the cyclone had blown a bunch of roof tiles out of place. Phew! He put the tiles back in place and didn't even charge me. We've had rain since and the garage remained dry :) 

Next topic lol I had my last x-ray checked 3 weeks ago by my Dr and the morning of the appointment I woke up with a sore throat and burning eyes. I thought 'Oh No! This is how it all started!'. She told me my x-ray was almost all clear and there was no need for another one. I told her about the symptoms I had when I woke up and she checked me over but couldn't find anything.... She told me to keep an on it as she didn't want me to land up back in hospital. By that afternoon I felt horrid, I had another cold. 

That was 3 weeks ago and I still have it. I was almost over it by the end of last week, but on the weekend we had been booked for a stall at an outdoor event for our shop. It rained all day and it was freezing cold. The whole time I was standing there I just knew the weather was going to set me back. Sure enough, Monday morning I woke up feeling like I was back to day 2 of when it first kicked in. I'm drugged up and feel awful, I'm really over having a cold and feeling like this.

I have some other news, it's sad and deserves it own post. So I shall write it now and schedule it for tomorrow. I'm off for another handful of tissues!