The Adventures of Tilly: An Atypical But Not So Unexpected Morning

After suffering a night of miscellaneous back pain, I awoke this morning not to the sound of Tilly whining to be fed, nor to the scrambling of her feet as she clambers haphazardly over the duvet, but to silence. A year ago this would have been a good thing but these days such blissful peace is a worrying sign. There are two things that you should know about Tilly. Firstly, she was found abandoned in a shed within the first few weeks of her life, suffering from a form of feline muscular dystrophy. This unfortunate ailment primarily affects her back legs and has rendered her tail almost completely insensitive. As a result, she occasionally finds it difficult to traverse the wilds of our apartment and I think it is fair to say that she lacks even a modicum of the graceful elegance of movement that you'd normally expect from a cat. As if that wasn't enough, Till is also particularly prone to urinary problems and has recently been diagnosed with a heart murmur. Now, before this post descends any further into a cheap parody of a charity plea, the second thing that you should know about Tilly is that none of the above bothers her in the slightest. In fact, she is as tenacious and inquisitive as the next kitten. Given this none too insignificant fact, waking up in the morning outside of Till's normal routine only ever means trouble.