19 Jun 2020
After a short period of petlessness, Jane begins her menagerie anew with the introduction of her first “normal” pet, named after a controversial figure from the veterinary profession’s dim and distant past.
Jane Davidson
Job Title
Professor Edward Coleman.
Am I really already writing my blogs for the halfway point of the year? It would seem so, and I’m having a look back at an earlier blog from this year.
In March, I wrote about “nurse pets” – those missing the parts other pet owners would expect as standard, but that we nurses don’t mind are missing. I had also been thinking about my pet-free status, and wondering if it was time to move away from the high maintenance pets I usually go for.
Well, I have had an arrival. It’s time to introduce you to Professor Edward Coleman.
Edward is a 15-year-old male cat. He is black and floofy, so, in some ways a “problem” cat to re-home – older, the “wrong” colour and requires grooming (not things that are high on some people’s pet list, apparently). But he does have four legs, two eyes and two ears – so he’s very well endowed for a nurse cat.
One eye is slightly discoloured, but he’s not bothered by it, so neither am I.
He went missing a few years ago and his previous owners couldn’t take him on again when he wandered back into their lives. So, we socially distanced and had a “contactless handover“ and he’s been here for two weeks (at the time of writing).
I have called him Professor Edward Coleman after an interesting character from my PhD research.
Edward (the feline version) arrived in my home as an overly confident older gentleman exerting his authority in a new environment; rather like the human Edward Coleman, who is often named as an early vet but who was, in fact, a human surgeon who held an influential position within the veterinary world – of which you can read more here.
Edward is a cat of many firsts for me: he’s verging on being “normal”, he can use the cat flap (in both directions), he isn’t on any medication, he plays with cat toys, and he can sleep on my bed without trying to smother me.
I was really struggling without a pet during lockdown, and while Edward doesn’t meet my usual nurse cat criteria, all in all, he’s pretty much perfect.
I’m not sure what’s next, but maybe a dog that isn’t flat faced? This pandemic is really having an effect on me.
