Cats

CATS

Updated May 25, 2010

I have been privileged to share my life with a number of these wonderful creatures. Here is a little tribute to them all.

TUSTY 1958 - 1970

Tusty was a childhood companion and a very gentle cat, although he was quite good at catching birds and mice. He was mostly ginger with a white bib and socks. He was extremely friendly and loved sitting on people's laps, and used to knock on the window with his paw when he wanted to come in. He had a tendency to wag his tail when he was very happy!

ZANTE 1987 - 1999
Found abandoned as a kitten by a roadside in North Kent, Zante came to me as the person who found him was about to go on holiday to Zakynthos (Zante). He was always a one-person cat, and would either hide from or attack strangers until he got acquainted with them. Although he must have lost (or been separated from) his mother at a very young age, he evidently learned how to hunt, as he was quite good at bringing in prey of various kinds (though not so good at killing it!) He was frightened of seagulls. He loved jumping on books or magazines and generally interrupting whatever I was doing. Sadly he contracted a kidney infection and died relatively young.

CAESAR 1988 - 2004

Caesar was found as a kitten strolling along Stone Street, the old Roman road that leads from Lympne to Canterbury. He came to me at the age of six after his previous owner moved to a flat in central London. He was a very large cat with a very big heart and he made a great many friends in Hythe over the ten years he lived there. He would often accompany me on walks and was frequently sighted over a mile from home! In 1998 he 'divorced' me and he spent the rest of his days in a multiple-cat household a few hundred yards from my house. He always remembered me and remained friendly but never returned home.

Caesar loved travelling by car and would stand with his front paws on the dashboard and his rear paws on the front passenger seat, taking a great interest in what was going by. When crossing roads as a pedestrian he always did the Green Cross Code! In his twilight years he used to sleep in the sun by the Royal Military Canal and one day his body was fished out of the canal. I like to think that he died in his sleep and just slipped in.

RAMMY born c1993 disappeared 28 April, 2010

Rammy is a beautiful longhaired tabby with a look of the Maine Coon about him. He first started coming through my cat-flap as a young adult, and at first I would gently push him out again and tell him to go home! He persisted, however, and within a few months had his own bowl and placemat. His previous owner had given him a disc bearing the name 'Fatso', but I decided this was so undignified that I renamed him Ramses, thinking that an Egyptian name would go well with the Greek and Roman ones (Zante and Caesar).

Rammy is a master of the 'silent miaow' and is very friendly but rarely goes on anyone's lap. As a youngster he was extremely playful. He showed no interest in hunting until he was 11 years old and my neighbourhood had a rat problem - he then proudly deposited two dead rats on my kitchen floor! He loves pork pies and will eat them, pastry and all, if one is left out anywhere!

Rammy had been getting noticeably arthritic, deaf and less active for a few months. On Wednesday 28 April 2010 he went out after dinner and never returned. Did he wander off to die? I may never know!

WOMBLE born 1998

Womble came from Hayward's Heath in East Sussex. His previous owners were moving to Australia and I got to know about him through a friend's son who was handling the sale of their house. Womble decided against a new life chasing koalas or kangaroos and came to live with me.

He is the most affectionate cat I have ever had: just touch him and he starts purring! He loves jumping on laps, often at inappropriate moments! He is very playful and a superb footballer! He is also extremely fond of his food, as is demonstrated by the size of his tummy!

Womble has extremely sharp claws and has the bad habit of not retracting them when sitting on human laps: he also enjoys 'pounding' with his paws whilst on his human victim! He can be very jealous of Rammy and has been known to push Rammy off a lap when he wants it all to himself!

FELIX born c2007

Felix is my mother's cat but I couldn't resist including him here as he is so gorgeous! He is probably the largest domestic cat I have ever known, but is very gentle although not especially playful. Appropriately for a big cat, his purr is extremely loud!

He was a rescue cat and was very skinny and bedraggled when he came to live with my mother. Now he is enormous and has a lovely glossy coat. I wonder if he has some Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest in him, as this would explain his size, coat and long bushy tail! He still seems to be growing - perhaps he hasn't reached his full size yet!

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