Inky lived for a number of years, happily and quietly. she was a gentle cat and kept a low profile among all the rowdy kittens! But she had a lovely nature and liked nothing better than to curl up beside me or Marion and purr in the evenings. Celie lived for I reckon 15 years, although we had a debate about this today. she was so full of character - a naughty kitten, a very vocal adult: she would shout at spiders and butterflies, her extremely loud miaows warning the creatures that she was coming: never a big hunter! She wasn't a knee sitter as an adult, until one day I came in to find her on Marion's knee - highly honoured she was. Celie never sat on anyone else's knee. She was Marion's cat. she died a few years back after suffering a stoke. Best for Celie though as she didn't like being poorly.
The next kitten to come into my life was Skippy. Christened May, because she was rescued on May day, I changed her name to Skippy. she was found by a decorator in the Raffles area of Carlisle (those of you who are local will know the area by reputation!). He brought her to our charity after lifting her dripping wet from a toilet, where someone was trying to flush her away. she was 5 weeks old - too young to be away from her mother really and already she'd had three or more 'homes'. A beautiful tabby, how could I resist? anyway, she needed someone who could give her a lot of care at such a young age. At night, she would sleep in the crook of my arm, sometimes sucking on my am, often doing that little paddling dance that kittens do to stimulate their mother's milk. I had many a morning with stiff, aching arms! Skippy was almost 20 when she died - in fact she was the last of the cats to go. But she was so definitely my cat :) I think those early years acting as her mum made a very strong bond between us. she would follow me everywhere, always by my side. she would sit on my keyboard when I was using the PC; on newspapers and books if I was reading; on my shoulder if I was cooking and she continued to sleep on top of me bed until she died, moving around me as I turned in the night. I still miss Skippy. Here she is as a kitten and as an old lady..... she was always small. Stunted I guess from her poor start.
After Pongo died, we had Inky, Celie and now Skippy. We were still working hard raising funds for the charity and still taking in strays. For a short time, we fostered a huge, and I mean HUG cat called Baggy Bertha. Boy, was she demanding! she'd been overfed for years and was just enormous, so when we tried to feed her properly, she shouted all the time for food. We had to wash her back end, as she was too fat to clean herself, as cats do by folding themselves in half. but she needed more TLC than we had time to give her and eventually found a home where she was the only cat and with owners sensible enough to feed her properly and get her weight down.
Here's Baggy.....
And by the way, she couldn't fit through the cat flap... poor Baggy.
Next time, how we got Jimmy Jaw and Cozzie and some others too :)
Unless this is very boring, then you must tell me so (please!)
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