I am never sure how to tell you sad news. But I promised I would. Tell you. 
There are three promises I make for the The Kitchen’s Garden Weblog.
1. (Unless I tell you) All the shots you see are from the last 24 hours so you will see what I have seen each day.
2. (Unless I tell you) All the shots will be from my own eight acres. 
3. Although this is a slow-moving soapless soap opera, it is the truth and I will not hide any uncomfortable part of the truth from you. I will try to be gentle but you are here for the good and the sad. 
Mary’s Cat has gone AWOL. He has disappeared. He was in the barn for his milk and breakfast five mornings ago twining himself through Daisy’s legs as I milked her. Chasing Kupa just to be naughty. Mary’s Cat and Kupa waited together for their morning milk.
We have not seen him since. The above shot was taken last week.
I know many of you have followed the progress of this wee moggy, who appeared on the bottom step leading to the verandah in the first few days of the Kitchens Garden pages. So as I promised, I must tell you that he is nowhere to be found. But don’t be sad. Do not be sad.
I have always thought that the length of a relationship and it’s ending should not determine how we remember it. Sometimes we meet someone and love them for the shortest time. Sometimes we have a friend or companion who is with us for years and years. Sometimes we love someone without the promise of ever meeting them. Sometimes we have a little ball of fluff run about our feet and lay about in the gardens for only a year while the others last twenty. This is just as great a love. One year is as good as twenty, if we are wide awake. We cannot judge a whole relationship by its ending. So I am determined not to be sad.
Our lives are built on memories. Every moment is instantly a memory. It is how we stack that memory that counts. No, that is the wrong word. OK. The folder we store that memory in, is as important as the memory. The label we put on that folder determines its recollection. I prefer to store my life with this little cat in a positive folder. Not a sad folder. He was a good cat and a great mouser. He hated to be inside the house. He would only sit on John’s knee. He chased the peacocks. And slept laid along fence rails. We loved him and now he is gone but I can still love the memory of him. I will not focus on his loss. Short does not mean less.
He might come back you know. It has only been five breakfasts, including this morning. He could very well be on an extended walkabout. He has been known to wander. But he is usually always home for breakfast.
There now. I promised I would tell you the good and the bad. I could not hide our missing crew member. And now we must get on with the day. All of us.
Have a good day.
celi
PS. I know many of you were interested in the little bag Viv made for me. She has posted a tutorial showing us how to make the French Baggie . It is very handy and already covered in hay and dust of the day. So pop over if you want to make one too. She makes it look so simple.
On this day a year ago I posted how to make meringues . My mother always made meringues on our birthdays.
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
100 responses to “Our smallest crew member is M.I.A.”
We have lost so many cats in our 39 years of marriage that I have vowed never to have another. However, I vowed never to have any of them so we’ll see what happens. So sorry to hear about Mary’s Cat but he could just be doing his cat thing somewhere else.
I think cats teach us how to let go.. .they don’t like to be owned. c
Oh, Celi, I can tell from your tone that you assume the worst about Mary’s Cat, probably because you know her behavior so well. If your assumptions are correct I commiserate with you. But I do hope you are being unduly bleak. I love what you said about the length of a relationship not determine how we remember it.
I agree with that sentiment and also believe that how often you speak to a friends does not determine how close you feel with that friend. I hope for a good outcome, and hope whatever happens you will place it in the proper course of events.
Good luck.
I do agree about the friends too, some of my closest friends live in NZ and I see them every few years or so and we are able to pick up where we left off almost mid sentence!! Have a lovely day ronnie.. c
Aw, C…that’s too bad. Your attitude is the right one…these things *do* happen…
You never can tell with cats, though. He may be away for a week, a month, or a year, and then come sauntering out of the barn one morning…
It is the way of a life that backs onto long tracts of wild land. Like yours too I imagine. You have to be ready for things like this to happen.. c
My mother always makes meringues on our birthdays too. It might be a NZ thing! I’m so sorry to hear about Mary’s cat. That is not good. All that worrying about where they are and what could possibly have happened to them. I do hope he comes back to the farmie and your next post is all about his homecoming xx
I always forget how easy meringues are to make.. c
Oh, Ci,.. I know exactly what it means to miss a farm friend….Baby and Abby disappeared in May ( 2 of our kitties). I still glance at the sides of the roads when driving into town to see if that cat that streaks across is one of them. On a good note–Ratty (another cat and who was one of Baby’s babies)–disappeared for 2 whole months and just returned a few weeks ago!
I hope Mary’s cat is just on a little walk about!
How exciting that your one cat came back – and after two months, your jaw must have dropped at the sight! c
He acted all “wild” for a bit, but then was his old lovey self!
Wonder where he was?
Aww. I am sad. I remain hopeful he will return
morning ruth.. we will have to wait and see.. c
I know how it feels to have a member of the crew disappear. Hope the kitty returns. t
Morning Miss T. Life is not always predictable.. c
Maybe he has just gone walk about and hopefully will return…
This is quite likely and a lovely image too, I don’t suppose you have many cats on the golf course.. c
Mary’s Cat has the wind in his soul – the wind brought him in and the wind has taken him out wandering again (that’s what I’m choosing to believe). For those of us who “reuse and recycle” animals with unknown histories, like Mary’s Cat, these mysteries are part of life.
Or maybe it is something in the air… about 2 weeks ago my 14 year old cocker spaniel/velcro dog took himself out for a sniff and a walk and was gone for 90 minutes. 90 very long minutes for me. In the 10 years I’ve had him he’s never been out of sight for more than 9 seconds. It’s the call of the wild 🙂
Lacey that is a lovely thought. He did wander in and now he has wandered out. Fair enough. and hour and a half of a lost dog would be terrifying! I am glad he came back.. c
I hope he makes his appearance soon. I remember when our cat disappeared. For months, I expected to see him on the porch every single time I came home.
hmm, it is hard not knowing but there you are.. c
Celie, a wonderful philosophy from you – as we have come to expect – for a sad happening. These puss cats have such a capacity to worm their way into our hearts. All the same, I do hope he comes back.
Morning ViV, yes he is a wee character, it would be a fine thing if he just wandered back in.. c
It is sad when the animals come and go from our lives. When our house/barn cat went missing and never returned last year, the children posted missing cat posters (but only on our barn 🙂 ). We all missed him. Hopefully yours is just gone walkabout for a while.
That is such a sweet image, your barn with its missing cat posters.. cool kids. Animals do teach kids about loss though. We learn that life does go on and sadness is allowed and liveable.. c
As you know, we’ve lost two cats over the past few months, one old, one young and both are buried in the garden. Years ago we had a cat who, just like Mary’s Cat, disappeared. It was the not knowing what had happened to him and the feeling of helplessness on our part which was distressing. Having said that, the same cat some years earlier went missing for six months only to come sauntering down the drive one autumn evening looking none the worse for wear! Hopefully the same will happen with Mary’s Cat, so don’t go closing that folder just yet!
Christine
Yes I was thinking about your cats when i was writing this morning. They have bright but short lives as a rule. Unlike White Cat who seems to have decided to live forever! c
I don’t like the not knowing, that if and maybe is a tough one.
but I was thinking of you and your baggie this morning, I needed it to carry a camera and take a photo of a beautiful slow worm that I disturbed. off to check the link and see if its not too complicated for me.
If you can crochet, you can make it and even if you can’t.. crochet is pretty forgiving.. c
Well I’m crossing my fingers. What a poignant thing to say: “One year is as good as twenty, if we are wide awake.”
It is good to think about, so often we just coast dreamily through bits of our lives, not seeing the happiness.. c