A friend has asked for an update on Kingston the cat who was planned to be with us here in Malta by now.
We got his rabies injections and other inoculations done, and applied for and obtained his “pet passport” to enable him to travel. He can come to Malta now, although he would have to complete three weeks in quarantine, or he can come after mid-July (6 months after the completion of his rabies procedure) without needing any quarantine.
Kingston in younger days
Kingston seemed to be a bit under par at the beginning of the year and our vet, after a series of examinations, pronounced him to be suffering from heart failure with probably only a few months to live. She strongly advised against shipping him to Malta and felt that he might not survive the stress of the journey.
We decided to have a second opinion and took him to the veterinary hospital at Dursley in Gloucestershire for a (very expensive!) scan. The news here was much better and the specialist said that, with the right medication, there was plenty of life in the old boy yet. He now takes his “heart pill” every morning and complains if you are late with it!
At the same time, out of the blue, Jaqui’s mother expressed an interest in having Kingston, at least until the mid-July period when he can travel without quarantine. So that’s where he is now and he seems to have settled in well.
As it happens a close friend of Jaqui’s mum, who used to visit almost every day, died just two weeks before we left. So Kingston is doing a great job of filling the gap that has appeared in her life.
We are both missing him badly but he’s probably best where he is, at least for the time being.