Hi Jenny.  I agree cats are amazing.  Mine are called Moon, Roja and Rosa.  They do know that I’m sad, or at least different.  Roja was very fond of my partner and she is spending a lot of time looking out of the window, I’m sure she’s waiting for him to come home.   

What lovely names for your cats ,and yes if only they could talk but they definitely will sense things ,they bring calm and peace and are good company ,I hope you keep chatting on here if and when you feel the need ,there are some lovely understanding people on here I find ,who have gone through things and come out the other end well .

Thank you so much for your message Jenny.  My cats have all disappeared upstairs at the moment but tp2 of them are staying with me at night.  The need I have at the moment is that I could chat all the time.  I feel so so lonely and scared.  Something I don’t really know what to do about as I’ve never felt like this before.  x

During the summer, and for the first time ever, we had a Vixen with her fox cub make their home under a shed. So they were out and about every night. The Vixen was actually quite bold. She would come and take food from very close proximity, and would casually just go about her business next to you. The cub was inquisitive, but more wary. Come around 9pm at night, you'd look out the kitchen window and the vixen would be sat waiting for it's food.

One of the neighbours works with wildlife and said they aren't aggressive by nature, and don't bother cats. In fact, it tends to be cats that will tell them to sling their hook. What i will say, the first time you hear a vixen do her screech, you will never forget it. It's like something out of a horror movie. Like someone being skinned alive. It's a horrid noise. If i heard that call out camping in the middle of nowhere, I'd have assumed i had walked into the Blair witch Project.

Hi Prof.  Love this story.  There used to be a few urban foxes where I lived in London.  I never heard a noise quite like that but they did make a strange sound.  Perhaps vixens are the only screechers.  Ours must have been dog foxes. You have such an imagination x

This is how dull my life is, that i now even know this. Male foxes have dog like barks, females screech like a banshee out of some horror movie. A quick search of youtube will let you hear their calls. They are truly terrifying. Wish this forum would allow photos, because we get all sorts in our garden. Squirrels, birds of all kinds, birds of prey, even had an owl not so long ago (first wild one I've ever seen), hedgehogs etc. All we're needing to finish off the wildlife bingo card is a deer and badger. We don't even stay in the middle of nowhere, we're just on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

Any plans for going out? It's cold here, but dry for a change. But just in case you missed the last 10 storms, yet another one is due tomorrow. They're never ending.

Sounds lovely where you are. We obviously had male foxes.  Photos would be good.  I have to go out today to the Registrar to register the death.  Luckily a friend is going with me.  I think I had my worst day so far yesterday.  Still not brilliant, but trying to get must do things done.  The weather here is pretty windy and rainy.  Are you ok?  xx

Yeah, can't complain. Happier all the festive nonsense is over (said in the first post, i wasn't big on Christmas. I get called the Grinch). Here in Scotland, it drags on for an extra day, so everything was still closed today. Much prefer Easter because it's not so much in your face. Jeez, just read that back. I really am a misery at this time of year.  Maybe the family are onto something.

So how did the registrar go? Hopefully all went quickly and smoothly?

Glad you are enjoying the Christmas break

The registrar was very nice and it went well and I managed to keep it together.  One of my lovely friends came with me and  made me eat something afterwards, which I am fiinding very difficult.  The problem is, I feel choked up all the time and eating is quite difficult.  Thank you for your kind words.  I wish this choked up feeling would go, I wish I could sleep and I wish I could stop crying.  The evenings and nights  are definitely the worst times.  Everything seems so pointless.  Sorry, I’m obviously feeling a bit sorry for myself.  Wxx