Sick cat

Cobweb seems very sick again this evening and it came on again very suddenly, just like it did last year. She's been wandering the house, straining, and never seeming to get comfortable. Poor thing. Her digestion just hasn't been good in her old age, and that's been a roller coaster for us too.

Much of the evening she wandered from hiding place to hiding place but around 10.30 or 11.00 she decided she wanted company. She curled up with Lucy first which I always find touching because Lucy still chases her on a regular basis, but when Cobweb wants warmth, support, or whatever, she trusts Lucy not to get her. Eventually, though, she wandered up and curled up against me instead. She's been like that for maybe an hour or more, breathing in and out in short little bursts that don't sound natural.

We'll call the vet in the morning if she still seems troubled, though I'm a bit frustrated that they've never been able to offer us anything long term for the digestion issues.

Cats, Rats, and Toys

Cats. Cobweb seems better today. She's been drinking water, which she wasn't doing yesterday, and seems to be more comfortable and not breathing funny. Trying to get herself clean too. We'll try her out with some food later today.

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Rats. So last year a bunch of students occupied Wheeler (Hall; on the UC Berkeley campus) to protest higher fees. All of the helicopters annoyed me, but I can understand the need for civil disobedience. After the showdown, the students were given the opportunity to get-out-of-jail-free by the university, who simply asked for agreement to a code of conduct and an essay reflecting on their actions.

Now, some students refused to do so, which I can understand too. Principals and all of that, you know. Or so I thought until I read this article about the student-conduct trial of one of the protesters.

She's defending herself against the charges laid against her, but instead of standing for principals or for her disobedience, she's saying how she was just making banners and not actually blocking the doors (to Wheeler Hall) or anything. Here's a quote from her defense:

"I saw some people barricade the last door," Zelko said. "I think maybe they put a chair on it."

Asked to elaborate, she acknowledged the door had "several chairs."

That's right, she was just watching. What could she do!!??

What a weak-willed bunch of ninny protesters Berkeley has nowdays.

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Toys. A month or two someone threw a blue stuffed animal atop our garage. I wasn't willing to brave the crumbling building, so it sat there until builders took down the roof last week. Then last night someone threw a red stuffed animal atop our garage. It landed on the ground, there not being a roof, but you get the idea.

What's up with that?

Painted Ladies, by Robert B. Parker

This is what I now presume will be the penultimate Spenser novel by the late Mr. Parker.

Overall, I thought it was quite a good story. A lot of recent Spensers have been more action-adventure than mystery, but this returns to the classic formula. We have an intertwined theft and murder that spin out into a wide network of people. It was nicely done.

I was also struck by the ending. The novel pretty much ends on an exclamation of unbounded love. I've more than once felt that Parker seemed to have a love in his life that could move mountains--and an appreciation of the same.

In the end, that's about all we could expect or demand from this world.