Documenting and interfering with a mouse hunt.

By the way, Atom died in January. Succumbed to cancer, age 11. He was a member of our family with a huge personality and character. We had many adventures over the years. He is greatly missed.
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Oh James I am so sorry, you’re having a bad trot with your fur kids :( Heartfelt sympathies, again :-/

I spent 5-6 months staying up all night looking after him. He would often go outside between the hours of 2am-6am, I would follow him out. In his condition, he would not have fared well against a hungry fox. That meant many many sleepless hours standing outside with Atom, in the darkness, contemplating his death, my own mortality, and the meaning of life.

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I am very sorry for your loss. I have a 16 year old kitty with cancer, and while she is responding well to treatment and eating as she should, we know we are living on borrowed time with her. I do not look forward to the day when we have to say goodbye to another beloved companion.
 
I am very sorry for your loss. I have a 16 year old kitty with cancer, and while she is responding well to treatment and eating as she should, we know we are living on borrowed time with her. I do not look forward to the day when we have to say goodbye to another beloved companion.


That's heartbreaking, sorry to hear that. It's a horrible feeling to know that their already short time on this earth is going to be even shorter, it's not fair.
 
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Sorry to read of Atom's passing, James! I completely missed the adventure that started this thread but Atom's character shines through. And a beautiful cat he was, too. I'm sure having you around for his nightly walks while not feeling well must've been a great comfort to him.
 
Sorry to read of Atom's passing, James! I completely missed the adventure that started this thread but Atom's character shines through. And a beautiful cat he was, too. I'm sure having you around for his nightly walks while not feeling well must've been a great comfort to him.


Thank you. My time outside with him was always in complete silence. Sometimes he'd just plant himself on a spot and sit there for hours. Other times he'd want to go for a walk. When he was younger and in good health, I used to take him out for night walks often enough so he understood that part of it, but I'd never spent very long stretches (hours) like that before.

I sort of got the impression he appreciated it because:

i) he would sometimes wait for me to come back from my shower before taking me to the door and asking to go out. He could always go out anyway via the cat door, he knows that.

ii) occasionally, after we'd been out in the darkness for hours, I'd break the silence and say: "Atom, I'm very tired. Can we go back to the house now?" It seemed like he understood and he'd walk back to the house with me.

iii) sometimes he'd stay in and I'd be up until at least 3am to make sure he's ok - I'd prepare a specialised mix of food for him he needs to eat, make sure he's comfortable, etc. If it seems he doesn't need anything more, I'd crash on the couch to try and catch some sleep. He'd wait maybe 15mins and then I'd hear the cat door open and close. I'd immediately get back up and prepare to be outside with him until daybreak. But he's done that enough to make me think he knows I'm up for him and he'll only leave when he thinks I've gone to sleep.
 
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