So okay, this is kinda gross. Or even really gross. Consider yourselves warned and walk away now…

As most of you know, my Loki is a Very Big Boy. Not only the longest and tallest cat I’ve ever known, but he also weighs in at 7.1 kilos. Which means he’s also a bit beyond chubby. Which means he isn’t able to clean his nether regions very easily, if at all, and so looks of other easier ways. In nature he would rub his grubby bottom along some grass or leaves to wipe it clean. In casa az he has chosen my bed cover. Ick.

This is actually a newish thing, starting just after the cold weather hit and I put the deep orange quilted cover on the bed for the winter. I guess it was a combination of Loki becoming just extra fat enough to make doing the clean-up job on his own too difficult, and the nice quilted surface becoming suddenly tempting… but still, totally gross. After washing the bed cover several times I realised that Loki was only doing the nasty on one section of the bed, so I got out an old bath towel and – voilà! – that’s what he uses now. Though not every day. Weird.

And for some reason I find myself thinking stuff like… hey, Sunny never used to do that, and he was even plumper than Loki in his day. Also, Sunny never ever – not even once! – jumped up onto the kitchen counter tops. Not like Loki has started doing.

And then I stop. Because Loki isn’t Sunny. Even though he often seems to be channeling Sunny with his very doggy behaviour and general galootness. And then there is his total trusting face, which always gets to me. Just like Sunny’s. Except orange and stripey. So much the same yet also very different. And maybe this sounds corny, but the ways that Loki reminds me of Sunny makes me feel like I can love them both at once, because I still miss the sunshine of my life so much.

I’m also reminded of Sunny when I give Azar his kidney meds in malta and when Peter and I give him the daily liquid laxative, and several drinks of water from his special glass… all the thing we didn’t do for Sunny because we didn’t know. Because back then I didn’t have a vet who would take ten phone calls from me and give me advice and help me make decisions. So now I also cuddle Sunny when I snuggle up with Azar at night.

Luna, on the other hand, doesn’t remind me of Sunny at all. But she is very likely to start reminding me of her namesake, and Sunny’s mother, Lua. She is already displaying what is politely known as Lots of Character.