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| Jamie, Junior, Oliver, Choo and little Perry - Dec 2018 |
It's hard to believe that Jamie is now our senior cat. Jamie was 9 last October. Next in age is Isla who joined us in February 2013, from her age at the time I would say she was also an October kitten making her 7 last October. Junior came to Freshfields on the 3.6.14 and after taking a few days to twist Steve's arm he came home on the 9.6.14. Junior was quite tiny really so probably born in the April of 2014 making him 5 any day now I guess. Choo was the kitten no one wanted .. rejected over and over because he was plain .. apparently. There loss was my gain, our beautiful Choo has been with us since the 20th of July 2016. It didn't take any persuading for Steve to say yes as it was 5 days after my second lot of surgery .. I think he'd have let me have the moon then! The youngest of course is the little chap .. Mr Perry, the one that almost got away and reluctantly moved in on the 9th of August last year. Never has a kitten hated me so much .. but time and patience has turned him into a stunning, loving and ridiculously greedy young man.
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| Jamie, Tia and Billy - Feb 2018 |
It's been an emotional time, three old cats lost in less than 12 months. My funny little Billy died on the 18th of June and Tia on the 21st of September. Billy was my first male cat, and after living just a short time with him and Oliver I said I would only have male cats again. Somehow Isla sneaked in under the radar but I do find I have an affinity with the boys.
In the Summer of 2002 Steve arrived home with a starving hissing spitting little firecracker that was to become our Billy, and Steve was also responsible for bring Oliver here. As most people know Oliver was that far gone that he was presumed to be dead. Steve merely heard weak sound as he was about to bury him.
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| Choo and Oliver - Feb 2018 |
I collected him from his work place and I was still not convinced the kitten was alive. After hours in front of the fire on a hot water bottle the little grey ghost gradually came back from the brink. He was feral and scared, but even having warmed up he was too weak with hunger to fight. I was there when he woke up, I fed him, nursed him and loved him .. I was his safety net his comfort blanket and his security. For years and years I was the only person who was able to do anything with him, and I could do anything with him. To be honest in those early years he could be quite demanding of my attention but typically with adult cats he could also be a loner. It's a shame he never knew Steve saved his life, maybe he will now? Over the last year or so he had got to trust Steve more, but really as far as a human went I was privileged to be the only one his world. Recently his obsession with me had increased again, he would sit and just stare at me and he was never happier than in my arms with his head nuzzling into my neck. I'll miss my handsome lad so much and I do wish others would have got the privileged of knowing him as only I did.
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| Billy, Oliver, Tia - January 2005 |
Where do we go now? Well it's far too early to think sensibly or consider the options, this will be raw for quite sometime. We've always been a six cat family so maybe one day in the future there will be room in our home and our hearts for another kitten. I have always said that due to the difficulty of rehoming black cats and kittens the next kitten here will be a black boy and will be called Luther!
