Just been on a lovely break to the South of France = what a beautiful place. I now know why all the Impressionists loved to paint there as the light is superb. Wish I'd taken my art materials, but just didn't have time to sit and paint... Never mind, took lots of photos to inspire me now I'm home :)
Anyway, back to the cats. Esme was a delightful cat.She was found by a motorist, when he saw her wandering in the road. Luckily, he stopped, picked her up and brought her into the cattery. Before I post her picture, I'll explain that she came from the same place as Jimmy Jaw. and after Esme was found, we went to the farm she came from and found dozen of other cats in an appalling condition. The lady who lived there was never prosecuted, but we did persuade her to hand over most of the cats and those that remained were neutered and monitored. Most of the rescued cats had to be put to sleep as they were in such a poor condition, but Esme had such spirit that she willed herself to survive.
She'd been fed on bread and milk (and only occasionally) so when she came in she was literally skin and bone. Most of her fur had gone and she was blind. Cats cannot survive without meat in their diet - they just don't get the right nutrients and vitamins.
so this was Esmerelda when we found her....
In that state, nobody wanted to adopt her - after all, nobody thought she would survive very long. So she HAD to come home with us.
And what a good move that was :) She lived for many happy years, although we never knew how old she was as most of her teeth had gone when she was found, she was un-neutered like the others and had had kittens, but god knows how many she'd had to care for and what it must have taken out of her.
the spirit that I referred to made her a special cat. Her blindness never once stopped her doing what she wanted to do. She would wander out into the garden, find the warmest and most comfortable place to lie and made sure she was the last one in at night!
She never lost her adventurous nature and often the neighbours would report here wandering in a zig-zag down the path....
And of all the cats we had, she was the most loving of all (except for my little Skippy!)
Every evening if I sat down after work, she'd make a beeline for my chair, haul herself up onto my knee and settle down, purring wildly. I would groom her gently and she'd purr louder the more I groomed.
Not being able to see, her sleeping places were always odd. She would get into a plant pot or lie in the rockery in the garden; get inside any cardboard box that was handy and once got inside a little bed that I'd made for a dollshouse.
I loved Esme.
Here is the little round ball of fun that she became....
There were two more cats after that. First Bing, who was named Bing because he was found in a place called Crosby. He was quite elderly when he came to us, but was a lovely, gentle cat. Although he wasn't with us very long, he left a lasting impression because of his gentle nature.
This is Bing:
And finally, Jennifer. She was brought after we'd stopped helping at the cats charity, by a farmer down the road. She'd been hanging around the farm - a lost kitten and he thought she might be ours. So she stayed.
And a proper little character she was too. She was tiny, another of my favourite tabby kittens! Full of mischief, she loved going out roaming the fields and would always come back late in the evening, having enjoyed the long summer nights. We only had the pleasure of Jennifer's company for a couple of years - she always was too adventurous and one night just didn't come back. We never saw her again, so either she found a home somewhere else (which I doubt) or was killed by a car or an animal.
I did miss her....
Here's Jennifer
So, that's the cat saga over finally!
Lots of them have been in our lives over the last 20 or so years, all of them gorgeous in their own special ways.
Next time - the dogs.....
xx
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