Big Mu R.I.P.

Sadly, Kipling was P.T.S. on Tuesday 20 March. We found out, after a couple of visits to the V.E.T. that he had an inoperable tumour behind his left eye. This is what was causing the running nose. Even worse, his left eye was swollen and being pushed out of the socket. The left side of his face was swollen. We had time to say goodbye to him and had a weekend of feeding him all sorts of lovely Mu treats. We've lost both cats this past year and it's very hard. We miss having paws around the house. We will get more, but need time to get over Kipling and Tikki. I hope they're settled at Rainbow Bridge.

Kipling didn't start life as Kipling or as a Mumu. He was a rescue cat, he chose me when he was in Teckels Animal Sanctuary. The staff at Teckels thought he had been a pet, possibly when he was a kitten, but then had been feral for at least a year. A kind lady befriended him and rescued him to Teckels.

Initially named Baggie, short for Bagheera, I wanted a name that better reflected his personality. My lodger at the time commented that naming him would be difficult, he was very much A Cat Who Walked By Himself. Clearly this name was too long, but the obvious link between his personality and his past name was Rudyard Kipling. So, it was decided that Kipling is his name, coupled with the fact that he made exceptionally good cuddles. The name proved very apt when, 3 years later, Tikki came to live with us. The literary link was complete. More on Tikki later.

But where does Mumu come from?  This is slightly more convoluted. Mou is the Greek for 'my', as in My Love or My Cat. So, for me, Kipling became Kipling Mou. An affectionate term for My Kipling. My OH pointed out that Mumu are black cats, and Kipling was the King of the Mumu.