What can I say?

I enjoy seeing other people's pets, but don't blip Bowlby very often these days. She was 18 in May and has an overactive thyroid and wizened kidneys. She still seems happy enough, but her behaviour has changed dramatically in recent months.

No longer does she curl up in any comfy corner - on our beds, our clothes, in a partly packed suitcase - instead she sleeps for hours in my bath or on top of the microwave. Here she is on a box.

As her weight falls, she has regaind the agility of youth. She knows where there is a mouse nest and keeps appearing with yet another mouse from the garden. She can jump onto high surfaces and send any items flying in all directions. She is stone deaf and her shouting and howling is very loud, presumable because she can't hear. We certainly can.

I love it when she does come for a cuddle, which is about once a day now.

Today Mum had yet another migraine. After consultation with her specialist and our GP, she has restarted anticoagulants. These were prescribed for a clotting problem and stopped when the possible side effects seemed to outweigh the benefits. The migraines then appeared. This may just be coincidence but we are hoping that the medication will do the trick.

We went to Sunderland to the Eye Infirmary for an appointment about Mum's double vision. There has been no deterioration, so it is now possible to arrange for new spectacles to be prescribed.

For other reasons it's been a difficult day, so it's good to have a little catalysis (and a G & T)!