The story seems to be on the up-and-up. The cat's hit record is remarkable, and several times he's outguessed the experts and medicos. They suspect that something in the failing metabolism of a soon-to-be-dead type can be smelled out by the cat. But that's only a theory.
Anyway. You all know my cat Toxo, and the long saga of his involvement with the kids. Time and again, he's climbed up on the bed of whichever kid is currently afraid of the dark, or cranky, or otherwise upset by bedtime. And every time, the purring and the relentlessly friendly furry kitty stuff have conquered, and Children Have Slept.
Not just my kids, either. There was the little girl who slept over here a couple weeks back. The one who apparently doesn't sleep well on her own, and has nightmares. The one who repeatedly climbed out of bed here and really didn't seem to be happy about the whole sleep thing -- at least, until Toxo climbed on the bed, and I explained that he'd look after her. And then she went to sleep, and got up in the morning to tell us all how Toxo looked after her all night long...
Today there was a minor car accident on the highway outside. The curve where our driveway hits the road is apparently rather deceptive. Every year or so, we usually wind up with a motorcyclist lying halfway across the drive. This year, it was a slightly dented Holden Barina. The young lass driving it kinda missed the curve a bit, and clipped an oncoming ute. The ute driver was fine, and the only damage to his vehicle was some extra paint left on the bullbar. He checked to see the girl was okay, left his details, and hit the road.
The girl, however, was a bit shaken up. She was unharmed, but the rear bumper and panel of her car were... well, they were history. (I helped pick 'em up and load 'em into the car that came to collect her.)
Naturally, once we were sure she was okay, we invited her in for the necessary cup of tea, so she could call people, and calm down a bit. Not good to send someone back on the road if they're in shock -- and frankly, she seemed more than a little shaky.
At least, that was how she seemed as she sat on the couch. Right up to the point where Toxo the Cat marched into the room. He ignored the kids. He ignored the grandparents. He even ignored me, which is almost unheard of. Nope. He walked up to the couch, and oozed his way onto the young lady's lap. And there he sat, purring and kneading until she finally laughed, and stroked him, and began to relax.
You could see her whole body calming, her entire attitude changing as she interacted with the cat. It was... actually, it was kind of amazing.
That cat totally freaks me out sometimes.
