Cats (Past and Present)
As pets I've no disliking for dogs, but cats appeal to me because, unlike dogs, they don't need to be taken out in all weathers to be exercised! Domestic cats are very individual creatures who know what they want - a secure, comfortable and interesting life - and how to get it. As a former friend once observed, you never own a cat. If you give it a good home it'll stay with you, but if it gets a better offer it'll 'pack its bags' and move on.
Left to right Candy, Cyril, Belle, Benjy, Benson. It took a lot of patient encouragement to socialise five cats to this extent, but food is a powerful distraction to territorial tendencies!
Belle and Candy joined me in summer 1987 as kittens. I wanted two so that they would be company for each other while I was away at work and they were especially close, as sisters from the same litter. Candy unfortunately lost her left eye in late 1999 from an infection which failed to respond to treatment, and sadly, Belle died in the summer of 2003.
Benjy and Benson joined us in December 1998. They belonged to a work colleague whose partner was seriously allergic to cats and they were mainly living outdoors with no shelter available. With winter arriving we agreed that I would take them over from her. Sadly Benjy died in the spring of 2003.
Cyril had been my father's cat and he joined us when my father became terminally ill in December 2000. Sadly Cyril died in autumn 2002.
Candy sadly died in October 2006, aged 19 1/2 years, leaving just Benson. To give him company, in November 2006 we took on a 5 year old cat that needed rehoming, Charlie.
One cold evening in January 2009 a loud miaowing announced the arrival of a rather hungry cat at the front door. He wasn't micro-chipped or on the local vet's 'lost' list. A poster outside brought forward two near neighbours who'd also been feeding him, but no claimant, so I volunteered to adopt him and named him Colin. He, sadly, collapsed unexpectedly and died in March 2017.
In February 2024 I took on two kittens, sisters about six months old we've named Cruella and Evie, who were part of a litter of five that had been living on the street in the Midlands. Socialising them, with humans initially before they are introduced to Louis and Tigger, is an uphill struggle but I'm confident we'll get there, in time.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
Benson became seriously ill in early November 2010 and was put down on 5th November, aged 19. Below are my last photos of him, enjoying the autumn sunshine.
