Small Furries | Megan's Head

Chassie is Back

On October 15, 2015

In Cape Town, deeply personal, small furries

Photo on 2015-10-15 at 6.34 AM #2 Thank you each and every one of you who messaged, shared, called, came to look in gutters, gave advice, support and comfort. Chase is back home, and lying at my feet, after a dramatic search and rescue. My life and heart can return to normal.

For those of you interested, here is the long and boring detail of what happened. I now know that it can happen to anyone, with any type of cat, even a fat, 8 year old, layabout, Big Lubowski personality. Brenton went to call Chassie in (on Tuesday evening), as he does every evening at about 7. I had left 10 minutes before to go to the Alexander Bar to watch the CityVarsity 3rd year final work. I got home at about 9pm to find a frantic Big Friendly on the stoep and no sign of Chassie. At first we thought that he might have climbed up into the engine or bumper of my car and driven with me to the theatre. Our worst and most paranoid fear. The one we visualised endlessly, the whole of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

All the obvious things were done. Vets, animal shelters and groups were called, emailed, and face booked. Posters were put up and flyers made. Big Friendly did the rounds, looking for a body. At 5pm yesterday we took our flyers and started going door to door in the neighbourhood, and our neighbours were sweet, and concerned and attentive. Some people felt sure they had seen him. Our last stretch of the search took us to the street behind and parallel to our one (we share an alley between us). People there told us there were lots of cats in the area. I saw a few in an alleyway and kssed to them. They perked up alertly. And then we heard meowing from across the road. It was clearly Chassie’s voice. It took a while to identify that he was hiding in a gap between two sections of a roof, and he was terrified, but, clearly, recognised our voices. I waited with him and spoke to him while Big Friendly walked home to fetch our long step ladder and the cat box (genius idea) and then there we were, hoisting our ladder onto a stranger’s house and coaxing Chassie into the cat box.

He was dirty, ravenous and terribly needy. I hope he has learned his lesson. We tried to read him the riot act but he just started purring, and hasn’t stopped since.

I have a lot to be grateful for, starting with his return. But then there are friends, family, animal lovers, neighbours, organisations and total strangers who helped. Thank you. Chassie is home (and may never be allowed out again).

The He(art) of it all

By megan

On October 14, 2015

In Cape Town, deeply personal, show reviews, small furries, theatre stuff

This is a really hard post to write, but not because of its content or intention. I am writing it with an aching heart, because last night when I went to the theatre our cat Chassie went missing and hasn’t returned. I have conflated the two things and keep thinking that he climbed up into the inside engine part of my car and that I drove off with him and lost him on the way to the Alexander Bar. This is him.

11081228_10152639225351008_7082985758939302484_n

He has a white ringed eye and a black one, making him look quizzical. And his markings give him a side parting. I cannot imagine life without him and I need everybody’s help in bringing him home.

But back to the theatre. I witnessed the CityVarsity 3rd year degree acting project last night and, honestly, I was so impressed. I was impressed that the students thought to invite me and I was super impressed with their self created texts, great concept work, and fantastic, slick and convincing performances. I thought the work was original, fresh, very brave. It was also funny, relevant, moving and powerful. I have been known to be harshly critical of student work, but Inez Robertson, Genna Blair, David Traub, Annemie Jordaan, Lobke Hein, Lizelle Bernado and Dan-Marie Viljoen you changed my mind about sloppy student work. Also, Sanjin Muftic, Jane Batzofin and Genna Gardini you can be very proud of your students.

I look forward to working with you young talents in the future.

The Regular Visitor

By megan

On October 2, 2015

In Cape Town, deeply personal, small furries

11753291_10152862001211008_4366445429864192582_n It started a while back. The small furries of the house would get antsy. The dogs would pitter patter down the passage to the open front door, and back, look at me with ‘help us’ eyes, and then start back to the door. The cats would sit on the threshold; Chassie doing that weird jaw shaking accompanied by a guttural growl/meow. The other two pointed in the direction of where I needed to look with their eyes and heads.

A starling had started to visit. He would sit on the broken sensor light above the front door and call to his friend. It was a tight squeeze, and not enough space to build a messy starling nest, but I think he came every day for a week just to check. And then he realised what kind of effect he was having on the more domestic and house bound creatures that live with us. And he started coming back to tease them.

Now he comes for a visit every day, in the late afternoon. He perches even closer, on the security gate. He announces his arrival with a few shouts, warbles and shrill whistles. The animals get incensed. He calls them out to tease them. It’s his entertainment, and without fail they deliver.

I love him. I love his cheek and sass. I love his bravado. I am utterly convinced he has a unique personality. And, when I suffer life’s mundane disillusions he cheers me up (at the expense of dogs and cats, who hate him a lot).

Tonight You’re Mine Completely

By megan

On May 13, 2015

In Cape Town, deeply personal, small furries

Big Friendly (my husband, for those of you who have come to meganshead only recently) and I started the slide down the slippery slope almost three years ago when we got our pups Frieda and Linus. Up until then I had been successful in keeping our past animals off most of the furniture and all of the bed. But with the arrival of ten week old Frieda and Linus all resolve, reason, and general clarity disappeared. Now everybody is allowed everywhere all of the time.

I had a bad bout of flu this last weekend, which kept me in bed (even though it was our 11th wedding anniversary on Saturday) most of the time, and this is basically what it looked like. sickbedmashup

Sometimes there were more, and sometimes there were less. But, if I was in it there was at least one other being on or in the bed. At night, when Big Friendly was in it too, there was another cat added to the mix. Jasmine now sleeps between us, while Chassie stays close to my feet.

When I got up to wee I would come back to this. coneheadandcat

Or sometimes this. closeupsnuggles

Honestly, I am totally used to it. Some mornings Big Friendly and I have to pretend we are still sleeping because the slightest noise means we are up, and then Frieda and Linus, who have been draped over the couches, bound into our room, jump onto the bed and stand, sit or lie ON us.

When Big Friendly gets up to make coffee I have an ‘animal and me’ lie in.

So, every now and then I get to stay in a hotel room when I travel for work. When I close the door behind me I am utterly alone. No furry body follows me to the bathroom and watches me pee. No feline meows at me to open the shower door. There are no bowls to be filled, no cones of shame to take off or put on, no beady eyes asking for strokes, no Jonesie the part-time cat demanding to be let in then let out then in again. And when I finally climb between the sheets of the standard king in the hotel room, that whole bed, for that night, is mine, completely. There is no fur, no spit, no bloody speck from where Linus chewed his paw. No pulled bits of blanket where Chassie or Jasmine kneaded there furry heads off. No stinky dog or cat breath on any part of my body. No warm but immovable lumps making me contort into an unsleepable position. I say to myself with a gleeful sigh, “Tonight you’re mine, completely,” to a bed. I breathe. I flick through the channels on the hotel TV. I read a few lines on my Kindle. I turn off the light. And lie there. Awake. Alone. With all the space in the world, and missing each warm body.

This post is one of nine tandem blog posts, all with the same topic, and all released at the same time. Please check out the other offerings by these amazing writers.

Sarah: https://medium.com/@ricegirl2

Dave: http://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/

Nick: https://medium.com/@nick_frost

Brett: https://brettfish.wordpress.com/

Cath: https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/

Scott: http://squidsquirts.blogspot.com/

Kerry: https://medium.com/@Kerry_Contrary

James: http://www.jamespreston.org/

Random mind blowing nature and poo

By megan

On January 21, 2015

In deeply personal, just funny stuff, small furries

Warning: Not to be read while eating.

Having 4 (ish) animals of the non human, non toilet using kind in a small house means there needs to be a dealing-with-poo plan. Our dogs have gotten better now that they are grown, and mostly poo in the park, although they do occasionally poo in the courtyard or the tiny patch of lawn in front. We generally flush those poos. I know it’s not the most water efficient, but it certainly beats throwing poo filled plastic bags into the garbage. The problem with poos being outside for any, even the shortest, period of time is that they attract flies. I have witnessed flies arrive and land on the beginning of a poo before it has even completely exited the bum of the animal.

Chassie (cat) used to poo in our neighbour’s patch of ungardened front. It was a bit embarrassing, but we didn’t love them, and secretly derived a certain amount of neighbour-pervert-pleasure in it. The neighbours have since moved on; we like the new landlord even less, and apparently so does Chassie, because he has taken to nightly poos in a soil filled metal bucket that used to have a plant in it, in the courtyard. Cat poo is pretty gross because it has a radical and overpowering smell, so I have been finding them asap and flushing them too. But, yesterday I noticed a big, green praying mantis sitting on the poo, and I left it for a while, before going to fetch it for flushing. Today the praying mantis was there again, same girl, munching contentedly on the head of a still alive fly.

I hate flies with an unnatural vigour. I don’t get the pros of flies. I was delighted with this genius piece of insect murder in my back yard. I blocked my nose and watered the plants. I left the poo. I tried to communicate telepathically with the praying mantis, asking her to invite her other friends, and letting her know that I would protect her, and them, if they dealt with the flies. I’ll go outside now and see what’s happening, but in the meantime I am marveling at the random magnificence of the natural world and that even the tiniest of wars are fought, won and lost in our back courtyards.

Epiphanies, Insights and other random ramblings

By megan

On September 1, 2014

In Cape Town, deeply personal, me on stage, small furries, theatre stuff, world of work

I have just had a blinding realisation. It happened while looking at a pic of a man and a signboard. He was advertising his show at the Edinburgh festival. My heart did a lurch when I identified with him and imagined how he felt. Here is a screenshot of the pic.Â Screen shot 2014-09-01 at 2.08.40 PM Totally innocent and cute, unless you know how he feels. and I do. So, I am looking at this guy and suddenly I know that I will never, ever beg for an audience for my work again. I will tell people about it, and promote it, and write about it and be proud of it, for sure. But I am done begging. And it feels fantastic just knowing that.

That is the epiphany part of this post. The insight part is about my gorgeous and special boy dog Linus, who has a recurring condition that makes him very sick. He is at the vet as I write this, and he is seeing another specialist vet tomorrow so we can make plans to manage his problem better. Truly, there is nothing sadder than a sick pet. I am so haunted by his sickness and how responsible I am for him, beyond words. I ache for him especially since he has no idea why he feels so terrible. I really need a god of small things here. Instead, we will do everything to find out what is wrong and hope that we can help. But it is so, so hard. Here is a beautiful pic of my boy.Â

I love him so much.

And now for a few ramblings.

1. This is the first time the first day of Spring has been a gorgeous, hot, still, beautiful day that I can remember. I have lived in cape Town for 21 years this time around and 1 September is usually winter.

2. You need a Yellow Fever jab when you go to Zanzibar because you can’t come back into SA unless you have one. It isn’t the other way around.

3. I am mid-travel on a roadshow, with a week of travel left and I can’t multitask when I am away. I can’t think of the next project if I am in a strange town.

4. Sugar free ginger beer is awesome. I cannot understand why it isn’t totally available everywhere. (Except I don’t love the Woolies one).

5. I am missing improvising. I haven’t for about three weeks and I miss it.

6. I have lost enough weight to buy and wear clothes I like.

7. I am madly in love with my niece and struggle to be apart from her.

Megan's Head

A place where Megan gets off her head.

Category: small furries (Page 3 of 12)

Chassie is Back

The He(art) of it all

The Regular Visitor

Tonight You’re Mine Completely

Random mind blowing nature and poo

Epiphanies, Insights and other random ramblings

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