YVONNE and the case of the wrong staff

Yvonne and Nick in pensive mood.

Yvonne has been with us for nearly three years.  She is 12½ years old.  Some of you may remember her story.  She had been dumped with someone who never really wanted a cat but who agreed to look after her for two weeks while her owner went away.  He never came back.  She had been kept in a barn for two whole months, with occasional walks outside on a lead.  With winter coming word went round that Yvonne needed a new home.  We had just lost Daisy so we adopted her.

The herb bed is one of Yvonne's favourite hiding places.

She emerges smelling sweetly of tarragon.

She is officially a tortoiseshell cat.

Waiting for us to join her at apéro time.

6pm sharp.

Dreamy time again.

Always on the lookout for a passing mouse.

Another favourite hiding place.

Always the explorer.

And an opportunist.

She was terrified of Hugo at first.  He was, of course, the perfect gentleman.

He gave her space and now they get along fine.

Another favourite hiding place.

When I was in the UK recently, our lovely neighbour Malcolm passed away.  He was 92 and I'm glad I was around to be on hand for his wife Janet to help with preparations for him to spend his last days at home, where they both wanted him to be.  They didn't want him to end his days in a hospice but at home.  

All the time I was in the UK, two whole weeks, Nick reported that Yvonne was hardly eating anything.  She would go through the usual routine, waking him up early to demand breakfast, nudging him for more treats, but after a couple of nibbles wouldn't eat any more.  He threw away more food than she ate - it didn't keep well once opened in the tremendous heatwave.  He wondered if her appetite was affected by the heat.

When I got back to France she made up for it, tucking into each bowlful with gusto and demanding more.  It seems it was nothing to do with the heat, just the wrong staff feeding her! 

This made us realise that leaving her unattended with someone calling each day to feed her wouldn't work for Yvonne.  She likes company and is clearly out of sorts unless we are both at home.  This is the main reason that we now travel back to the UK one at a time.  One of us stays in France with Hugo and Yvonne while the other visits the UK for a week or so.  (There is also a huge difference in cost.  We can make three trips by air for one person for the cost of one round trip en famille by car.)

I returned to France for just four days before we set off back to the UK for the funeral, this time in the car with Hugo.  When Daisy was with us we would bring her too but Yvonne is not a good traveller so we can only travel by car if there is room for her in the cattery.  We were in luck this time, the holiday season not really in full swing yet in France - had it been August there would be no chance at such short notice.

When we got there we were amazed to find it had gone through a huge transformation.  It was previously a rather scruffy place but we were always happy to leave Yvonne there (and previously, on many occasions, Daisy) because the staff were lovely and we knew she would be safe and well cared for.  Now it is definitely five star accommodation.

Each pen has its own cat adventure playground and we left her there wondering where she would climb up to and hide first.

"Can I go with you?"

Leaving Yvonne in the cattery is always bitter sweet.  We are glad she is safe, comfortable and well cared for but know that she will miss us.  She's not one of those cats that plays hard to get for a few days when they get home.  She always gets straight back to normal, a quick sweep of the property to make sure all is well, a dish full of her favourite food with treats and she's ready to sit with us for cuddles.

Whenever I go away I am always glad to get back home and make our family complete again.