Old age is starting to catch up with our little Billy Bob. After being the same strange little man all his life there are some recent changes in his health and behaviour.Billy came to live with us as a tiny kitten in 2002. Steve found him abandoned by the feral colony where he was living in Glynllifon. He was starving and dying. Steve only had tea and digestive biscuits with him and gave him a few bits which he ate and drank, probably the moment his life was saved eh! I came home from work to find a feral Billy spitting and hissing in the empty rabbit hutch in the garden .. the rabbit was indoors when I was at work. I laughed as this tiny little kitten lunged at me with claws and teeth, I picked him up and bought him into the house and I gave him a small meal of cat food and a drink of water.
The vet thought he was about 7 weeks old but tiny due to probable inbreeding and lack of sufficient nutrition, but he ate well and was soon pretty settled in our busy household. I had no intention of keeping Billy and rang both the RSPCA and CPL to try and get him homed. But of course though they put him on their books we heard nothing further. Working at Freshfields showed me just how many kittens need rehoming in a season and a plain B+W feral boy would never have stood a chance among the Jamie's, Junior's and Isla's of this world!
So Billy must now be 16, not a huge age for a cat but still an elderly cat. The cataract is now far more dense than it was a couple of months ago and I doubt he has any vision in that eye now. But Billy still goes out and about a little and does his own thing in his own time. Yesterday he was walking on top of the kennels so he has adjusted to jumping and balancing quite well.Billy is now looking quite thin and scraggly, he's not eating as he was and is drinking more than average .. but not excessive. (Possibly his kidneys are slightly affected - it's common in old cats) He's always loved tea, but now he's quite obsessed with getting a cuppa. He's become quite clingy and a little demanding. Sometimes he shouts and shouts and shouts until he gets attention .. just a cuddle and he's happy. As I said he does go out but he does now tend to be indoors more, where ever we are he is! I know he won't be here long but I want to try and make his quality of life the best I can so today I'll be adding some special treats to the shopping trolley .. maybe some Sheba or some pouches of food!
It's ironic really, but I guess the abandoned starving kitten who was left to die has probably out lived his feral siblings .. I can't imagine any of them have made it to 16 and it's not over yet for our very odd individual little man.
