Thelma and Louise

Last week I had to say an unexpected goodbye to a key member of my support team. Here’s what she meant to me, and how she helped me manage the two new normals of Parkinson’s and COVID.

The downside of naming pets in pairs is that if something happens to one of them, you’re left with Tonic and no Gin or Pepper with no Salt. And if the pair has a (spoiler alert) reputation for an unhappy ending, you end up on the doorstep calling out only for “Romeo!” or “Eurydice!”

Thus it was with Thelma and Louise, the quirky pair of calico kittens who joined us in October 2016.

Louise and Thelma

Calico cats

Google calico cat and you’ll see images of cats with unique markings, mostly white with splashes of black and ginger. You can’t breed them – they are just a strange genetic hiccup, called a “Glückskatze” (lucky cat) in German.  Calicos are friendly and funny, and you rejoice when they come into your life. With a camera full of kitten photos, you’d never end up with a custody battle.

Thelma looked as if she’d been several rounds with Frank Bruno, while Louise looked as if she’d borrowed her tail from another cat entirely. Sadly, Thelma was run over in her first year and Louise, who became LouLou, quickly expanded to fit the love available.

LouLou preferred Robin by day but would happily pin my legs down at night and I would wake with terrible cramp.  

We had silly conversations:

“What do you want?” “Meee-ulk.”

“When do you want it?” “Neeeow.”

She’d bring in mice with a lot of fuss and bother and eat all but a select little piece of innards, which I was sure to tread on in the early morning.

Mindfulness machine

When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s two years ago this month, LouLou helped me adapt to the first ‘new normal’. She stepped up to the plate just by being herself – a little purry, furry, mindfulness machine. When I stroke a cat’s fur and hear it purring, I am not thinking about yesterday or tomorrow. When the second new normal came around, it just meant we spent more time with her. She helped me cope with both Parkinson’s and COVID by lowering my blood pressure, topping up my oxytocin levels and keeping me in the moment.

Not cool for cats

In last week’s hot weather, she seemed to be OK at finding shade and water but on Monday evening we found her asleep in the garden. And couldn’t wake her up. All those horrible stress hormones I thought I had banished came back in a flash. There is no other explanation but that she had succumbed to the heatwave. The vet couldn’t find any sign of poisoning or road trauma. Please, if it’s hot when you read this, maybe go out and check on your own pet?

Robin is a lovely companion, and he doesn’t leave mouse innards on the carpet. But he doesn’t purr, either! Thank you for being in my support team, LouLou. I’ll miss you.

Play> Thunderbird> from the soundtrack of Thelma and Louise> composer Hans Zimmer > guitarist Pete Haycock