What is the best purchase you have ever made?
The cats were of course adoptions rather than purchases, but you do give a donation so it counts. Not only that they’re the best thing we’ve ever ‘purchased’.
Marby and Geris were an unexpected event in my life. I was terrified of cats having been attacked by one when I was little. Suddenly, out of the blue, I declared I wanted two cats. I raise later I just knew that two pets of mine from Spirit had arrived here. I’ve done this 12 more times since, and not always with kittens.
I named them before I saw them, and as you can see from Matby’s colouring she looked like a Marble. Geris was a ginger nutcase. Gingernut being his full name.
These two came in when Geris died.
Daisy was 4 and shattered from being abandoned on a Royal Airforce estate, twice. It was customary to be shipped out and leave your pets for the next people in the house. Daisy moved in with an elderly couple but the man died and the lady couldn’t cope so she caused a rescue centre, bless her. She was a nervous wreck when we got her.
Bruno (8) had also been through hell. Re-homed when his first owner died. Returned to the rescue centre under false pretences not long after he was re-homed again. He hadn’t eaten for a month when we found him, he was so depressed. He’s one of two reasons that I can’t stand the RSPSCA. They nearly killed him with neglect.
Marby was amazing with them and they bonded inside a week.
Cleopatra/Cloppy arrived at unknown age. The vet said teeth 12 attitude 3, let’s call her 5. So technically she was 19 when she passed.
If Daisy and Bruno had been through hell, Cloppy put the tin lid on it, her hell was an entirely new dimension.
She had been owned by an animal hoarder. The lady who run our favourite rescue centre was asked by the RSPCA to go and help them rescue as many animals as possible. She was told to wear wet weather gear, gloves and wellington boots, and bring a change of clothes as everything she was wearing would be burned when she left. That was one brave woman.
The story was horrific. Cloppy was one of only 5 cats and 8 dogs rescued. She was terrified when we got her, but time to adjust, plenty of good food, and lots of love, did the trick. Especially as she became a stand-in mother to…
Twin sisters who arrived aged 4 months and full of mischief. Fortunately Cloppy was an excellent mother and knew how to control them.
Jo-Jo’s real name was Jordee made up of Joe, Ray (his brother), and Dorothy (their mum). Joe was my American uncle and a true cat lover, he bagged a cat after me, so I nabbed one after them. Special girl, special name.
Elly was the sweetest personality on the planet, and they arrived as happy, confident, girls.
He arrived as a 4 month old furious kitten. He bit us both. Gave us hell. Sprayed the house. Yet we loved him to the moon and back. He turned into the most beautiful cat. When you rescue animals who have been hurt you have to be prepared to give them time, and love them no matter what.
Charlie was a beautiful kitten, he went to a family with children, suffered a double fracture of his back leg at 8 weeks old, they apparently didn’t know how. When they were told the leg had to come off they asked for the cheaper option, the vet threw them out and called Cat Protection.
I was looking on their website to see about volunteering when he popped up. Showed Tony, he said go and see him tomorrow. When I went to see him I had no map book, yet I knew exactly where to find him. I even knew that when I drove around a bend I would see a wide farm gate with curved brick walls either side.
The fosterer looking after him was giving up, and frankly that was a good thing because I’ve would have reported the woman. He was in a room filled with junk, in a low wire cage, and I could barely step between the piles of newspapers surrounding him. She said it made cats feel safe. Exactly the opposite is true, they need to see what’s coming.
He was so claustrophobic it was heartbreaking. He was also hell on earth. But love is love and he was ours. As I said, we gradually healed him with love, and he became the most beautiful boy.
He died very suddenly aged 10. Knocked something down, Tony saw him fall and caught him, he was already gone. Losing him like that. at that age was agony, but he was worth every moment.
She was born to a friend’s daughter’s cat. I was asked to go see her sister as my friend said there was something wrong and daughter wouldn’t listen. I took one look and said “vets NOW”, she said she had no money, I said I’d pay. She said you must mean it if you’d do that.
She was born with a dislocated neck bless her. Might be disabled. Our garden was fenced in because of Charlie being disabled. All eyes turned to me.
I took Tony down to see her, remarkably she took one look at him and walked away. No animal does that to Tony, if there are multiple animals in a room he will have the lot climbing over him. She said no to us. But he’d seen the little torti and white who reminded him of Marby. Sadly she had a home.
I was inspired when I got home to call our cat sitters. They had some veterinary training so could look after her, and they’d recently lost a cat in a car accident.
They came with me to see her. She climbed on Alistair’s lap, laid on her back with her head hanging off his knee, and all for little legs akimbo. He burst into tears. It was actually as the cat they lost used to lie on his lap. She was homed instantly, and not brain damaged at all.
It also turned out that Amie’s home had fallen through so…
Amie was only a few weeks younger than Charlie and they took to each other like ducks to water. Which certainly helped Charlie to heal.
As did this guy…
He doubled in size in a month, doubled our food bill (he was cat number 6 at the time and ate as much as the other 5 put together) , adored Charlie, and although the fights were spectacular no cat was injured during the process.
He’s nearly 15. Been a challenge like Charlie, but touch him and we will kill you. We adore him and never stop laughing at his antics. He answers you if you talk to him and chats away to you. He has also been a loving and accepting older brother taking on four more kittens. They all adore him.
Starting with…
Two adorable, naughty, loving boys, who helped us to heal after Charlie. Nero knew us as soon as he saw us. He came running up to me, climbed up to my shoulder, and pushed his little face up against mine, exactly as Charlie did. He did exactly the same to Tony.
He also showed us clearly that his pick of companion was Marcus.
Tony said he needed the name of an emperor, hence Nero – who fiddled while Rome burned. The name suits him, he’s crazy and funny.
I was ‘allowed’ to name ‘the other one’ (how rude!). So I countered with Marcus Aurelius, which is his full name. A widely respected philosopher whose book is still in print today. The name suits the quiet elegance of Marcus.
Your life is what your thoughts make it
Marcus Aurelius (1st Century CE)
That’s enduring fame!
The latest intake…
Crystal Lily and her sister Mimzy arrived not long after the sad passing of Amie. Again we knew there was someone out there for us.
We thought they were at our normal rescue centre. But no. I actually saw a lovely kitten there, went back the next day to see it, and they said they’d never had a kitten that looked like that. Yet I stood there for five minutes with that kitten looking straight into my eyes, but not moving, yet it wasn’t there.
A week later she appeared in an image at a rescue a good way from us, but I couldn’t home her because the rescue refused to test mum for FLV/FIV even though I said I would pay. It was sad, but never deal with an irresponsible rescue.
So I checked out another local centre. Up pops a picture on an intake that day, five kittens, and we’re just knew which kitten it was. The difference in service from them!
I was the first to email and register our interest. They sneaked us in for a preview which is normally against the rules. We were the first t o see them as promised, and there was no doubt we’d found the one we were seeking, and another beautiful bonus like Marcus.
The message of the other kitten was simply – your kitten isn’t here as that kitten wasn’t there.
The moral of the story
Apart from sharing more cat photos as I promised blogger Mags Wyn I would. There is a reason for this prolonged story telling.
You don’t choose a pet you find them. If you get the urge to go looking for at pet it means that your pet is here. Pets are part of your soul family spirit.
Very kitten we have had only been released from the nursery one hour before I got there, or as with the girls, posted on line just before I visited the site.
You don’t have to believe this, just never ignore that urge. To find a pet now. You’ll likely have a very successful relationship with your animals if you do. Not without problems, they are animals, but still more love and joy that you knew existed in the world.
They are also a way that you learn if you are cause of unconditional love. We are.
You see a cat doesn’t see furniture it sees a scratching post. It’s not being naughty. It doesn’t understand tree, fence, sofa, it understands claw sharpening. We have a sound we make that’s quite soft, but if they hear it they stop. You can train cats. Just never train any animal through violence.
Sending them to their room works just as well with pets, perhaps actually better than with kids. Their food isn’t in there! 🤣
You don’t own an animal you home an animal. You find your pet by letting that feeling and instinct guide you. Stand in a rescue centre and ask yourself which cage you have to go to. But always made sure the animal shows comfort around you.
Rescues hate it when we wait for them to come to us, we always get a lecture that they don’t have to fawn over us. We always push back. We pay animals the respect of allowing them to show us that they’re comfortable to be in our presence.
Charlie was angry and wouldn’t cuddle for ages, but he came up to inspect us quite happily. Marcus wasn’t interested in cuddles, but he came to observe us. The girls would play happily around us, but are only starting to cuddle two years later, not on laps yet, but in their own way.
They are living beings and you owe it to them to see if they can feel safe enough to be around you, and give them time to get to know you. In 42 years that hasn’t failed me so far. It can take time for them to feel completely safe, but you must allow that.
If you do so you and they will avoid the hell some of our cats went through.
Please rescue, don’t buy. Never forget that black cats are lucky in the UK, and tuxedo cats like Lily are beautiful cats yet the most overlooked. I don’t know why, but I do know that idiot humans don’t just judge each other on colour, and it’s both pathetic and ridiculous.
Life is life, love is love, and animals are God’s blessing to us. If you can’t feel that don’t have them. They deserve the best. The rewards will last long after you lose them. It will never stop hurting, but they will be your best memories and, as with a good human, you’ll smile everyday when you think of them.
Pets are family too.
Best love
Amorah – Deb
The woman who thought she was afraid of cats and was healed by cats.
Deb Hawken - Amorah 