Thank you to everyone on RPCA for your messages of support and
kindness.  I've directed Dad to RPCA so that he can read them for
himself (although cannot post, for some reason).  He says "Thanks for
that. It's so very kind of them.  I've had lots of phone calls and
emails as the news spread, including some very sweet ones from
children of friends."  

He will need a month or three to recover and to regain his
equilibrium, so sometime in February or March I'll go to visit him and
we'll go looking for a new companion for him.   He, like many of us,
feels incomplete without a feline companion.  He has had cats for most
of his life.  As Gandalf wisely quotes in his signature file: life
without cats would be only marginally worth living.

In the mean time, if anyone in the greater Melbourne area (or near
Korumburra) knows of an adult (1+ years), affectionate, healthy,
dog-tolerant, visitor-friendly feline in need of a good (no,
excellent) home, please email me.  

Thank you again.  Your caring and kind words have helped an old man
start to heal his grieving heart.

Tish