As you know, this month is supposed to be a month of celebrating my ten years of teaching/selling hand-dyed fabrics, and my five years of doing so full-time. Well it isn't exactly a day of celebration at our house today. Quite the opposite in fact. We had to euthanize our cat, Mr. McMenace. Although he wasn't my studio assistant in the way that my old cat Johnny, who died 9 months ago was, Mr. McMenace often did try to prevent quilts from moving when I was trying to free-motion quilt them. His name says it all ... he was a challenging cat, and tested our patience at every turn over the last 14 years, especially over the last two as we had to medicate him for hyperthyroidism twice a day, and as we watched his temperament grow more and more mercurial. When we brought him to our home at 6 weeks of age, we named him Peaches because of his colour, but as he matured his name morphed due to his character. He was a Jekyll and Hyde type, sometimes loving, but often full of piss and vinegar, but I loved him anyway. We are left with only one cat now, Kissabelle, who is finally free of the violence bestowed on her by Mr. McMenace. Above is a photo of Mr. McMenace appreciating a warm pile of velvets fresh from the dryer. In memory of Mr. McMenace, today's blog give-away is a meter of luscious silk-rayon velvet, custom-dyed by me. Your choice on how you want it: a) a full meter of the same colour/s, or b) two half meters of different colour/s, or c) four fat quarters of different colour/s. Leave a post by midnight EST on Friday, January 25, and you will be placed in the draw to win!
Mr. McMenace at the cute and peachy age of 6 weeks.
King of the Jungle
Handsome and often innocent looking!
Sleeping in the garden at the feet of an angel.
We had a McMenace of our own, who was called Amazon. He once trapped a professional cat sitter in my in-laws kitchen! :) Thanks for the giveaway, Elaine!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness M-R. He sounds even worse than Mr. Mc. The only being trapped in our house has been our dear old cat Kissabelle. She has endured a lot.
DeleteI do like orange cats. Your give away fabric is probably almost as soft as his tummy!
ReplyDeleteMe too Elle. Love ginger tabbies, and white cats, so Mr. McMenace gave us both. His tummy fur might have been soft but if I had tried to touch it I would have been in big trouble!!
DeleteSo very sorry to hear of your loss Elaine. I know the heartache that you are experiencing. Take care......
ReplyDeleteThank you Sharon! I'm sorry I missed you when I was in Sudbury ... I heard you were away!
DeleteElaine, my heart goes out to you, losing TWO cats in such a short time. Your Mr. McMenace was a clone of the only cat I've ever owned, Darius, who grew up with our kids and truly had nine lives, he was inside/outside cat and would come home often from his travels with an abscess which required the attention of the vet. He was, after all, king of his territory too! Here's to feisty catkins!
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb. I think I'm experiencing empty nest syndrome. My boys are gone, just have our Kissabelle left. There IS something loveable about feisty cats, except for the violence that goes on inside the house with other cats!
DeleteMy condolences. It's always hard to lose a beloved, long-time pet.
ReplyDeleteThanks Delores, every pet lover goes through this.
DeleteI used to have a cat so similar in color and markings named Nigel who we lost a few years ago. His baby picture is so similar to 'Peaches'! I am so so sorry for your loss.
ReplyDeleteElena
Thank you so much Elena.
DeleteMy sympathy to you and your hubby. It's been a year since our cat passed away and every once in a while I catch myself looking for Skye. His pictures are lovely.
ReplyDeleteMy sympathies to you too Heather. It is tough, but it gets better with time. I lost my old studio assistant 9 months ago. We used to be so blessed with cats in this house and now we only have one left.
DeleteI had to have my 19 year old cat Baby euthanized a few months ago and it's still hard for me to talk about, so I know just how you feel. So sorry.
ReplyDeleteThank you Laura, and my condolences on the loss of your Baby. It will always hurt but it does get better with time. As you know, I lost my studio assistant Johnny 9 months ago. Sometimes what one needs is to open one's heart to another animal who needs a home. We have one cat left and she is old (15) so I don't want to stress her too much. She has endured enough stress from Mr. McMenace.
DeleteWe had a cat that lived for 18 years. Sorry about losing yours. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteThanks Judy. My studio assistant, Johnnie, who died 9 months ago was 18 too. Longest we've ever been able to keep a cat!
DeleteOh that is sad...hang in there!
ReplyDeleteSo sad - but some lovely memories!
ReplyDeleteIt's so sad when we lose one of our furry children but at least we have memories of them. I love cats because of their individual personalities and I think your Mr McMenace certainly exhibited that. I would love to win some of your fabrics
ReplyDeleteMe too Quiltbug, dogs always seem very needy, but cats have an independent dignity.
Deleteso sorry for your loss! I had my Teka for 22 yrs - and the year she passed we found a 2 wk old kitten - Kali - she was meant to be a foster but 2 yrs later she still here. I always thought it was funny how God gave us Kali to raise just as we were letting Teka go. . .
ReplyDelete22 years? You are very fortunate Nina Marie. I've never had a cat that long. There is always another cat out there needing our love.
DeleteElaine, I'm sorry for the loss of your second cat in such a short time. We had a Mr. McMenace too (called Stormy!)and after he passed away our remaining cat (who was often bullied by him) became so much more outgoing and friendly.
ReplyDeleteThank you Juanita. Stormy would have been a very good name for Mr. McMenace. I don't think Kissabelle realizes the extent of her freedom yet!
DeletePookie, at 8 months, may be developing into a "Miss McMenace"! Her latest is playing with her stuffed mousie in the bathtub at 2 a.m....!
ReplyDeleteStill you have lovely photos and fun memories and lots of stories to tell about him now that he's getting into trouble in Cat Heaven! :-)
As for fabric...ooooh! Yummy! I'm a Fat Quarter fan of fabrics of all types and hand-dyed velvet...oooh! Please pick me!
Margaret,
DeleteAh that is so cute thinking of Pookie playing with her mouse in the bathtub. Good luck on the draw!
Dear Elaine,
ReplyDeleteMy most sincere condolences for the passing of Mr. McMenace. Losing two “members” of your family in such a short time can’t be easy. I love the picture of him with your velvets; he seems to love them as much as your fans do.
Josée
Thank you Josée. All my kitties appreciate my fabric and quilts. See you Sat.
DeleteSee you Saturday!
DeleteJ.
Elaine, I'm sorry about Mr. McMenace. I was first 'introduced' to him via your quilt during our Haliburton workshop together. I know you've long valued your furry friends!
ReplyDeleteDaphne
Oh my gosh Daphne, I remember that quilt, and it was actually for our first cat, Sgogi. I haven't seen it in a while so it must be packed in my basement. We brought Mr. McMenace home after Sgogi died. How time flies! Has it been that long?
DeleteOh Elaine, I am so sorry to hear of Mr.McMenace's passing My heart breaks for you. I know how much you loved him. Mulder and Eddie send their love to you and Pete!! (And to Kissabelle, too)
ReplyDeleteDonna MacD.
Thank you Donna! My heart is broken but we couldn't carry on seeing Kissabelle so stressed. Now we are going to put our house back in order. It sure is quiet. Hugs to Mulder and Eddie. It is as cold here today as it was in Yellowknife the night I nearly froze my arse off last January on the aurora tour!
DeleteI'll take 4 fat quarters of different colors. I have the perfect project in mind for them!
ReplyDeleteI can't have cats any more as my husband is allergic to them, but I had lots of them when I was kid on the farm. My favorite was Clarence, a grey and white farm cat, who just disappeared one day while still very young. Such is life on a farm in rural Ontario.
ReplyDeleteJudy
Hi Judy, nice to see you here. I know exactly what life on a farm in rural Ontario was like! Grew up on one myself ... Clarence is a great name for a cat!!
DeleteI guess we have all had one- or Two! Our own was called Aunt Margree if you please and the most recent was Clovis, our daughter's cat. The tales you tell of Mr McMenace are SOO familiar . It is always heartbreaking though to finally realize what has to be done. Fortunately. We were able to have both of our menaces adopted. Anyway, you have my most sincere sympathy, Elaine.
ReplyDeleteOh what a happy ending to have your menaces adopted Carolynn! I thought of doing this but with his age (14), territorial marking, and need for medication, it would have to be an awfully loving home and it would have to be a one-cat home! Even then no guarantees.
DeleteI am pet-less now, but I had a big fat orange cat that looked just like yours and he ruled the roost for 13 years. All the dogs learned to stay away from him and he terrorized my other cat. But he was such a people person, thinking that all visitors cone to visit him. I still miss him and offer you my condolences.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have four fat quarters of your luscious dyed velvet.
Thanks for your note Norma. I always say ... CATS RULE!! Last year at this time we had 3 cats and now we are down to one. They were a handful as they were all geriatric at the same time, and there was lots of domestic violence coming from the one we just euthanized. But I still loved them all in their own way. Our dear old girl Kissabelle (now 15) finally has some peace in her old age. She is totally a people person like your fat orange cat, but she is gentle all around. Mr. McMenace should have lived in a one-cat household ... having others around was too stressful for him. Good luck in the draw!
DeleteElaine
I'm so sorry about the loss of your cat. They become such a part of the family.
ReplyDeletepippirose59 at gmail dot com