I've had cats since I was about 4, our first being Cleo (followed by Caesar, Nero, Neffiteetee, Noddy, Bigears, Daffy, Minstrel, Katy, Solstice, Mewsici, Harmony and Sophie and there may be others I have forgotten.) We had as many as 8 at one time, and rarely less than 3, Now, as I prepare to have to move (due to Mother marrying!), it's been a funny month, because my darling little Sophie (the silver tabby tart above who is doing that whole bashful hand in front of face routine) got run over and died, which was a really horrid thing to happen and I really miss her. She was probably the only ever cat who was really 'mine'. I always wanted a silver tabby, and when I was 15, my Mum brought her home from the vets, a stray which needed a home. And quickly we attached ourselves to each other. Even though she was a complete tart and moonlighted at other houses, she would always come to her Mummy and purr and curl up with me, steal my pillow, purr in my face etc. When I was in, she seemed to know and she would return home to spend time with me, and when I went to Bali, she barely spent any time at home at all. I miss her and it is really sad, mind you, it is a miracle it didn't happen before, as she would saunter across the road at the last minute etc. So following Sophie's demise we were left with 2 cats.
Subsequently, 2-3 weeks later, Tuesday to be precise, Solstice (known affectionately as the witch, due to her temper and the evil looks she gave you if you annoyed her, she has that Tortie temperament. Look at the expression in the photo!) didn't turn up for the pouch of wet food they get in the mornings and my Mother left me note asking me to profer said pouch when I got up. But she didn't come in, and we discovered later in the day, she was lying dead in our neighbour's garden, having received some trauma to the head, probably car inflicted. So this was a shock, as two cats in almost as many weeks. Solstice was very, very clever, you can tell from the amount of whiskers she had. In addition, she was very affectionate and purry when she wanted to be and was quite happy to come and plonk her bottom on whatever you were trying to read, or to try and clean your ears out if you were sitting in a position where she would try to access them. She had lovely maternal instincts. That leaves us with only 1 cat, Katy, an elderly white lady who loves to climb up door frames, has undercarriage which wobbles when she runs, has a very croaky meow and is a darling. It seems strange to only have 1 cat. The last time we only had one was when I was 4, with Cleo.
Finally, my mother returned on Tuesday from the vets, having arranged a cremation for Solstice. She used to work at that Vet surgery when I was young. She came back with the newsletter and informed me that T____ , the surgery cat had died. Now, T_____ holds special meaning for me....
When I was very young, and my Mum worked at the vets, I used to spend my Saturday afternoons watching operations taking place. I really really wanted to be a vet at the age of 8 and had watched many a castration, spey, abcess spearing etc etc. There was a lovely vet there, who knew my wish, and had also seen me watch countless operations over some years. T_____ was originally her cat, and he came in as a young Tom. And she arranged that I could carry out the castration procedure supervised by her. And so, at 8, I therefore did complete said procedure all cleaned and ready in my white lab coat and also gave the injection. I still have his trophies pickled in a jar somewhere! That was an amazing day for me, which I will never forget. Fulfilling an ambition that I had. Unfortunately, later on, I realised that I hated the sciences, so becoming a vet didn't seem very realistic (terrible since I come from a family with some scientific backgrounds) so as we know, I didn't become a vet...
So T______ obviously went on to live for another 19 years after my input into his life and only died last month. He lived to an amazing age, and it was only infirmity and fits that put an end to his life. (sadly I don't have a picture of T______. He is in a PDF on the internet, but I wasn't sure if I should use his real name!)
So, here I wanted to play tribute to three very fabulous cats!
