Henry was adopted from an animal shelter in Kansas by a couple who later moved to Florida. My then-girlfriend and I adopted him from them in mid-2004 and, except for a 10-month stint in Vilnius, Lithuania, he’s been with me ever since. So far, he’s lived in Kansas, Florida, Minnesota, Connecticut, California, Wisconsin, Florida again, Slovakia, Lithuania, Spain and Slovakia again.

18 is getting old for a cat, and unfortunately Henry’s beginning to show his age. Late last year, he gave me several scares. It seems that Henry’s kidney function is in decline. In August, September and December he had urinary infections. In the first two cases, I took him to the vet for a bunch of tests, antibiotic injections and overnight infusions to flush out his poor tired old cat kidneys. He hated it, of course, perhaps more than anything else he’s experienced (and he’s no fan of travel). When it happened again in December, I monitored him, but he fought it off by himself. Since this started he’s been moved completely onto a special diet for cats with kidney issues, and he seems better. Hooray!

Alpha chordate Henry wrestles a puppy

However, in the past month or so, Henry’s vision has really started to go. I first noticed that he had cataracts (CATaracts, get it?!) about three years ago due to a bluish coloration in his pupils, but they haven’t affected him until recently. Now, however, when he’s not curled up comfortably sleeping on the bed or amidst my clothing, he often either bumps into the wall or things on the floor, or comes close enough to doing so to need to catch himself.

At the same time, Henry is more and more lovable as he gets older. He sleeps against my side or chest now instead of exclusively at the foot of the bed. He comes to me regularly hoping to receive (and sometimes to give) affection, whereas some years ago he was really quite aloof, preferring to be admired from a distance and generally left alone.

So, happy birthday Henry! It’s time for the hookers and cocaine, yeehaw!

In closing, I’ll leave you with this photo. Henry was always the alpha chordate, but this picture — from before I knew him — really sums it up. Poor puppy. Maybe that’s why the folks who gave him to us wanted rid of him!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wt1ZjXv8Lg

Most reaction was very positive: smiles, thanks, change of body language to indicate a dropping of defenses.

Sign for the Biedronka supermarket in Gryfów Śląski

Those who refused to accept my little gift, by and large, tended to be working in wage employment. Marketplace vendors, sole traders and so on were delighted. The lovely young woman wearing a boring gray knit corporate shirt behind the counter at the KFC, and the security guard there, didn’t want anything to do with ladybugs.

The ladybug (Polish: biedronka, Slovak: lienka) has positive associations in people’s minds in this area, at least in Poland and Slovakia. Killing a ladybug is considered bad luck, at the very least, which leads a lot of folks to consider seeing one as good luck.

And my luck seems to be increasing.