Sorry to here that Riggers. The loss of a family member who has been with you so long is hard to take, although it is true that over time it does get easier.
Onto our worry..... Quenton is missing.
"His Tallship" is an intact tom who seemed to move in a couple of months ago. Known for his very quietness: he won't say boo to a kitten let alone to a fully grown queen, Quenton simply sleeps in the spare bedroom and hoovers up any food going. Blimey, the boy can eat. We call him "His Tallship" as he is very tall: much taller than the average tom. He also has a way of walking with his head, back and tail all in a line so he looks about 4 foot long.
Anyway, we last saw him on Friday afternoon. We had been discussing when it was that he became our cat, a step which requires the removal of male bits: we don't allow intact males in the house.... I sleep in the shed most nights.... and decided that if he still spent 24 hours a day with us by Christmas, we would do the deed then.
Strangely we have not seen him since....we do wonder whether he was listening
. More likely, he did have a bit of a fight with one of our other visiting toms so may be staying away from the place until he feels safe again.
EDIT. Scrap all that. He's back and eating everything he can find! He must had had a night out of the tiles and has come back for a nosh-up and a sleep.