Larla

I have been feeling very sad the last few days as our family cat Larla passed away on Tuesday morning. She was pretty old for a cat. We got her in early 1995 as a tiny white kitten. I chose the name Larla. People tend to think it is Lala and I named her after a teletubby but it is actually the Hindi word for darling. I was quite obsessed with India when I was 15.
Here she is on the couch (don't tell mum!) with our old dog Trudy. Larla's guilelessness is misleading but Trudy's long suffering look (her default expression) is pretty accurate. She got more than a few swipes across the nose from Larla. Looking at his photo I remember how Larla loved to dash under this couch and then when you bent down to see where she was she would shoot a paw out and hit you. Even if you weren't looking you might get a little tap as you innocently walked past.
I don't have all that many photos of her as a kitten as these were the pre digital camera days, when one or two photos seemed sufficient.

I have so many memories of Larla. She wasn't the most affectionate cat and liked to do her own thing. But then she did love to sleep on people's laps and always made us feel we were not allowed to move until she was done. She seemed to sleep on my lap for most of my honours year of uni, while I worked on my thesis she would snuggle in. Though she would start off snuggling but as she fell asleep she would slide off and sink her claws in to stay on my lap. Usually I would end up with one arm holding her there and the other trying to type one handed. Demanding.

Below you can see her in the front garden of my parent's house. She loved this front garden. When we moved house in 1998 and adopted my sister's then boyfriends cat the house was divided into two, Larla got the front and Bucky got the back. Larla enjoyed snacking on the native grasses that Mum planted. We eventually noticed that those she had chewed grew better due to the constant pruning. Walking round the garden on Tuesday with mum we could see all the beds she had made in various places to maximise her time in the sun with some dappled shade. Under the agapanthus and the rhododendrons. She used to sit under the maple and watch people walk past. I felt very sad and started crying on Tuesday when I walked up and instinctively looked to see where she was sitting.
She is also sort of making her famous 'fat face' in this photo, though it was more effective when she was sitting down and it seemed like her whole face would sink into the fat of her neck.

These are some photos I took recently in December. They are a bit blurred but feel special. She had been slowing down for a while. Mum would have to brush her and clean her eyes. She used to roll in the dust and end up all grey.

You can see her short ears. Lots of people thought she was some special breed but she actually got ear cancer a few years ago and the vet had to trim them. We used to dye them black to protect them from the sun but it obviously didn't work well enough. We used to joke that she became more affectionate and less bitey after that because she thought her tail might be next. She never forgave the vet.

We buried her wrapped in her favourite blue blanket. She used to refuse to sleep anywhere unless the blanket was there. We chose a spot in the front garden near a seat so we can still sit and chat to her. Bye bye Larla I will miss you very much.