2026-07-26 12:29 UTC
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@quester@mementomori.social 2026-07-26 12:55
#Cats from my past, a thread/5 Bastet. She was my partner's first cat. She was a birthday present for his 30th from a friend whose farm cat had had kittens. She was born in 2010. She was named after the cat-goddess of ancient Egypt. The first photo is Bastet with me on the day we picked her up from the yard where she was living with her mother and siblings. Besides the cat food that was available to them on a porch, it was clear the kittens did also eat other things, like berries, as was obvious during the long drive home and of course when a kitty has to go, a kitty has to go. The second photo is of my partner holding Bastet in his hands. She was so smol! I mean she never really grew up to be that big, but as we have had another female cat since her, we figured that's just how female cats grow. Bastet was very social, I assume due to coming to us the moment she turned 2 months and then having been handled by us constantly and we also talked to her, a lot. So much that she quickly learned her name and would reply to us calling her name. She'd "chat" to us all the time whenever we talked to her. Especially, if she knew she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. Those chirps were accompanied by what I'd call sort of rapid slow blinks 😂 Like she knew she wasn't supposed to be in that place or do that thing, and she was really, really sorry and she wouldn't do it again. Honest! Bastet was a pinball cat. Like absolutely a pinball cat. She was really interested when something was going on with the pins we had at home, and while she was with us, we had a bunch of machines at home. She was 1 when we started the arcade, and usually new games would rotate so that they first came to our apartment, where my partner would fix them if necessary and we'd play them, until either there was a free spot at the arcade or another machine was on its way home to us. The last two photos prove that Bastet was always in the middle of the action, whenever a game got opened up. Her favorite thing to do was to jump inside the cabinet if she was left unattended with a pinball machine that had either an open coin door or an uplifted playfield. She also learned the sound of a plunger. She knew that that sound meant a ball was about to go onto a playfield and she could chase it! The bingo machine had a very distinctive plunger, the springs were pretty old, but not worn enough to require changing. All Bastet needed to hear was even the slightest squeek and she'd come running to the game and jump on the playfield glass. She became best friends with Roope, who we rescued from my sister, and who I will be talking about in a later toot, and Wäinö, our current elder gentleman. And she also enjoyed our dog, Gaia, a grand Newfie lady, whose huge fluffy tail she loved grooming and playing with. I might have a picture of those two cuddling together, too. I'll have to have a look in a minute. Bastet made it to 5 years old. Sadly in 2015 she came down with a liver disease, which we spotted a bit too late, and the city vet didn't really react to quickly enough. She passed away at home, and was laid to rest in my in-laws' garden, which was where Roope, who passed before her, had been laid to as well. Bastet was the most wonderful little funny fuzzbutt who we had the fortune of having in our lives.