Special Blog March 2018 - My Cats!

When I was growing up in England I always wanted a puppy but my parents both worked and we only had a small garden so it was not to be. I arrived in New Zealand in August 1971 and stayed with a staff member from the school I had been allocated in Taranaki. Early in 1972 I found an old cottage to rent and my thoughts immediately turned to getting a puppy. However, I was heavily involved in different sports both playing and coaching. I decided that it would not be fair to have a dog so I decided that, as cats are more independent, I would look out for a kitten to adopt.

I adopted two kittens in January 1972, they were about two months old and at around the same time I rescued a pregnant cat from an abusive situation. The two kittens were brother and sister, Spot and Smokey, both grey with some white.

The feral mum produced a litter of two, she remained very feral as did her son, the female though I managed to partially tame, she was a gorgeous calico. She would come inside and allow some petting but remained very shy. She came to an untimely end when I accidentally ran over her one night not realising she was asleep in the rear wheel well, to say I was distraught was an understatement.

Spot and Smokey both thrived being very playful and enjoyed lots of cuddles. They were very laid back cats and I could tickle their tummies without any scratching from them. They enjoyed human company very much.

In 1975 I moved to Hawke’s Bay to teach at Taradale High School, I brought the two youngsters and the mother cat as the male feral had disappeared. I found a rental on a sheep farm 70 km from school but it was a good road most of the way, lol! We all settled in to our new life and Spot loved trying to catch birds. One day I was in the garden and I heard this meowing, it was Spot with a bird in his mouth. I yelled his name, he opened his mouth and the bird flew away, lol! Spot disappeared one day and then returned home a month later. He was very skinny and the vet diagnosed kidney failure, he was only 5 years old. I will never forget taking him to the vet and the way he purred all the way.

Smokey was the first cat to become my soul mate. She used to follow me round when I was home, slept on my bed every night and was nearly always by my side. Because we were so close I decided to try something with her, I taught her to sit and shake paws, one after the other! She would even do this with strangers and had a profound effect on all who met her.

She was so laid back that when I took her to visit the vet, I put a collar and lead on her and she would sit across my leg without moving. If she did get restless I knew what she wanted, so I would stop the car, we would get out and she would find a grass patch to relieve herself. This always seemed to happen when we were still on the country road. Most times she travelled all the way with no stops! In those days there was much less traffic on the roads!

Smokey lived until she was 19 years old although she had occasional seizures for the last 5 years of her life. They did not seem to bother her once they were over, she would pick herself up as if nothing had happened. Eventually, one Christmas time, her health deteriorated and I knew I would need to ring the vet when they opened again but I did not have to as Smokey passed on Christmas Day 1990.

During all these years, several ferals turned up at my house in the country and, of course, they got fed and watered, lol. At that time I was naive about cats and so several kittens appeared, luckily I managed to socialise many and found homes for most of them with colleagues from school. At one time I think I had about 17 cats, lol. Smokey was always very tolerant of these interlopers. 

Later, I managed to tame three more kittens well enough that they became indoor/outdoor cats. One grew into a huge black cat, he was absolutely gorgeous and his name was Cocoa. He would come inside for some cuddles being very affectionate but loved the outdoor life. After a few years he disappeared but turned up about a year later in great health. I would hear this very loud meow outside the ranch slider and there he would be wanting in for some loving, lol! These annual visits continued until I moved away, he must have had another home somewhere as he was always healthy looking when he turned up. 

The other two I named Lucky, a beautiful calico, and Magic, totally white. They both were happy indoor/outdoor cats and although shy, loved being petted. Unfortunately, Lucky was diagnosed with cancer, she was riddled with it and was about 5 when she died. 

I knew something was wrong when she suddenly started sleeping beside me at night and became extra cuddly. This left me with Magic as my only companion. One night I woke up to a strange noise in my bedroom, it was a live frog which Magic had brought home as a gift for me, lol! I took it outside some way and released it. Early in 1994 I moved to another farm cottage but much nearer town, Magic settled in well but also succumbed to cancer late in 1995.

Honey came into my life early in 1996 followed a week later by Splash, they were both six weeks old when they arrived. Honey was a medium coloured tiger with beautiful honey/apricot colouring on her tummy with a wee bit of white. 

Splash was a long haired grey and white cat with a flag for a tail, lol. Splash was terrified when she arrived but Honey took her under her wing and soon both of them would snuggle with me and loved their cuddles.

They were indoor/outdoor cats and loved to explore the farm when I was out, they were often seen some way from the house. They were both good hunters, unfortunately, and I would often find the remains of a feast. 

They were always home to greet me when I arrived back from a day at school or sport. They both slept on my bed with me every night and were my constant companions when I was home.

I moved to another farm cottage, my final country home, and they both continued to thrive. On the weekend I would usually go for a walk round the farm, both Honey and Splash would accompany me. 

They continued their occasional hunts and I will never forget the day Honey brought a huge rat into the house, it was not dead! I shouted at her and she took it back outside, phew!

I finally bought my first house and moved into town in the July holidays 2001. Honey and Splash enjoyed their new home but were still indoor/outdoor cats. 

They did not seem to stray off my property as there was quite a large garden for them to enjoy. However, Splash, being the character she was, nearly gave me a heart attack one day when I saw her sitting on the neighbours roof surveying her domain! This happened on more than one occasion.

Later, I would often arrive home from school to find her sitting on the roof of my garage waiting for me. By the time I had closed the garage door and opened the other door, she would be waiting there for me.

We always had to have our cuddles before I could go inside. Honey would then come over from her spot in the garden for her cuddles. 

When I returned from a trip away, Splash would sit on the deck and view me from afar, it took about an hour for her to forgive me at which time she would come and find me for a cuddle. 

She really was a madam at times but so lovable with it, lol! Honey, on the other hand, would come from her spot in the garden straight away to greet me!

Sadly, in 2007, one of Splash’s ears developed a lump that was probably cancer but the vet did a great job and simply removed half the ear. Splash made a full recovery and the half ear never seemed to bother her.

 As for Honey, somewhere along the way her personality changed and she became very shy of other people. Whenever I had anyone round she would disappear under the deck and only reappear when she heard their car leave. One evening, my friends came round for a BBQ and came in two cars. When it was time to leave, the boys and their dad left before mum. Honey heard the car go and within a couple of minutes came into the house, the look on her face when she saw my friend still there was priceless.

Splash was a shoulder cat when I was in bed and loved to snuggle up nice and close, Honey usually slept by my legs curling up into the space behind my knees. 

While Honey was a very healthy cat, poor Splash had a few issues with her eyes. The eye lashes on her left eye turned in and kept causing inflammations so the vet operated to pull the eyelid up, his worked but left her with a strange looking eye, lol! 

Then, however, she started getting sore around her right eye, these were treated but never went away, instead they seemed to spread and the vet thought it was probably cancer.

The only treatment was to excise a large area around her eye and this would also necessitate removal of the right eye. I thought about it for some days but Splash was 16 and a half and with all the possible outcomes that could occur and, after discussion with the vet, I decided to put her to sleep, that was in October 2012. 

I did not take this decision lightly as Splash was the second cat to become my soul mate and I loved her very much, I just did not want her to suffer in any way! Over the next year, Honey just seemed to lose the will to live, I think she missed her friend very badly. She went downhill very suddenly and I knew a visit to the vet was the next step but one morning in December 2013, I woke to find she had died in her sleep curled up in a box beside my bed.

I left for a winter holiday in the US early in January 2014, stopping in San Francisco to catch up with my second cousin and her family who had been living there for a few years as her partner works for Google. I journeyed far and wide mostly by train and enjoyed some really cold, snowy days lol!
In early February, I received a message on Facebook from a friend back in New Zealand. He asked me if I would take on two cats, Russian Blues, a half brother and sister.


Their current owner who had them from kittens was terminally ill and they needed a new home urgently. The only offer they had was from a farm and they would become barn cats, as they were front declawed (yuk) and had a few health issues, this was not an ideal outcome.

As I had been travelling regularly since my retirement I had decided, after Honey passed that I would have no more cats for a while but would foster for the SPCA when I was home. 
Well that plan did not last long as my heart ruled my head and I agreed to give Sylvie and Seb(astian) a new home. They stayed in a temporary home for about six weeks until I returned home and got the house ready for two new cats in my life. In late March, my friend collected me and drove me out to collect them.

They settled into their new home, Seb much better than Sylvie who I think was confused by all these changes after so many years in one place! Seb became my shoulder cat, he loved to snuggle up and purr in my ear. 

Sylvie on the other hand took her time, about 4 weeks, to accept me. She would sit on “her” chair in the dining area and would watch Seb and I at the far end of the lounge, she certainly had her beady eye on me, lol! 

Then she progressed to the sofa in the lounge, before, finally, one day hopping up onto the arm of my chair, that was the day I knew I was accepted. The strange thing was that during those weeks she slept on my bed at night! 

Both she and Seb were sink cats, they loved to hop up for some fresh water and the occasional spat! During these early weeks the wore different coloured collars so I could tell them apart!

They both, in their own way, love to play. Seb loved paper bags and a variety of toy mice, some attached to string and he would jump very high to try and catch them. Sylvie did not like any of these and I did not think she would play at all until I brought out the laser toy, she went mad with that! To each their own, lol!

Although they had been inside cats all their lives, they both loved going outside on sunny days. At first, I used their leads and stayed out with them but it was not long before they would sit at the ranch slider and howl to be let out. 

Sylvie was great, she found a spot to curl up in and never tried to escape my property which was fully walled/fenced.
However, Seb was a different story, no wall or fence was going to stop him. I added extra temporary fencing almost all the way round but he still managed to escape. 

One time he did not come back for hours and I was beside myself with worry. It was night time and I kept walking up and down the street, calling his name. 

I went home and started a flier on the computer, checking at the back gate from time to time. Just when I was about to give up and go to bed, he strolled up to the back gate, large as life, and walked inside as if nothing untoward had occurred! This became almost a game for him, could he find a place to escape and explore the outside world? I just had to accept that this was Seb and even when he was very sick, he would still find a window to escape out of!

While I lived in my house my very good friend would pop in and feed my current cats for me. Her niece would often go round as well and spend time with them.

My first, and only fosters so far, arrived just before Christmas 2014, a part Scottish fold mother with her five two week old kittens, they had been dumped at a local grocery store! 

Their story is documented earlier in my blog so I am not going to repeat it except to say that they were so much fun and I grew to love them very much. I suspect that if Sylvie and Seb had not been around I would have kept a couple of the kittens!

I made the decision to put my house on the market in Spring 2014 because I wanted to continue my travels. It did not sell until September 2015 but in May 2015, I moved into a flat that was situated opposite the Pacific Ocean. My flatmate had asked me if I would like to flat with him. Seb and Sylvie settled in quickly. It did not take long for Seb to escape and go over the fence to the next door property, lol! I went out looking for him and met him wandering up their drive, he hurried home!! 

Unless I left every window tightly shut he seemed to find a way even though I came up with creative ways to cat proof the windows as much as possible. 

What amazed me was the fact that he almost knew to keep away from the roads, he never went very far and never ran away for me if I found him!

On one of his escapades, a night one, he came home with a sore side he had obviously been attacked by the cat from over the other side of the drive. This necessitated a visit to the vet for repairs but it did not deter him, I am surprised I never had a heart attack over his antics! 

Seb or ET?????

He also loved to escape through the door between my area and the stairs up to where my flatmate lived. Seb loved to visit him and was loved in return. My flatmate took over their care while I travelled so things worked out well.

Even though Sylvie and Seb obviously enjoyed each other’s company, she was definitely the boss and poor Seb suffered on occasions when she was in one of her moods, lol! Later in 2015, Sylvie was diagnosed with pancreatitis, poor girl she was very sick and I do not think she ever really regained full health after that. Seb had various ailments, some skin trouble was the worst but he did recover. They had both come with kidney issues and I had to give them one tablet every day for as long as I had them.

In September 2016, while I was on holiday in the US, I received news from my flatmate that Sylvie was very sick and eventually she had to be put to sleep while I was away. The vet was in constant touch with me during this time and she took some photos of Sylvie on her last visit, I could see that she had lost some weight! I will always regret that I never got to say farewell to Sylvie!

Initially, Seb appeared to miss Sylvie but it did not take him long to settle down and rule the roost. He was very affectionate and did not stray far from me when I was home. 

He was still the escape artist though and that would be part of his nature right up until he went to the vets for the final time. I used to take him outside with his harness on, when it was fine, and he really enjoyed those sessions.

In February 2017, we were told we had to move out of the rental, I managed to find another one, in April, the day before I left for another trip to the US, phew! The move was made in May, while I was still away so I came home to a new abode. 

Seb had settled in but, not long after I had returned home, he disappeared. He would not have known where he was and we are on a main road into Napier from the south. 

I was sick with worry as I walked up and down the street calling his name, having no idea which direction he had taken. There are three flats next door to us and the lady from the middle one came out and asked if I was missing a grey cat. 

I went in with her and she told me she thought he was in her small garden. I went over and peered into the dark undergrowth and suddenly saw two eyes looking at me. I quickly grabbed him and I think he was pleased to see me, lol, they had a small, yappy dog and this had obviously scared Seb. He sure added to my grey hairs over his time with me, lol!!

He appeared to be in good health so it was a surprise when my flatmate emailed me while I was away in October 2017 to tell me he was sick and was in the vet hospital. He did return home but went back into the hospital and that was where I picked him up from in early November. 

Even though he was drinking plenty of water, Seb kept getting dehydrated, a sign his kidneys were beginning to fail. I was hoping for a few weeks with him before the inevitable and I certainly got those. This was mostly due to a weekly visit to the vet for intravenous liquids, at the start he took it well but just before Christmas he let the vet know he had had enough. So from then on I was guided by Seb himself. He endeared himself to the people at the Vet Hospital and one of the girls commented that, in human terms, he behaved "like a true gentleman"!

I used a lot of pee pads during the final weeks and also spent a lot of time in my bedroom so he could be out for cuddles, lying on a pee pad all the time. When I went out he would stay in the large puppy play pen I had purchased, sadly it was the only way I could make sure I did not come home to puddles everywhere!

A few weeks ago, he refused to eat his special wet food so I reverted to Fancy Feast and for a while he thrived on this, some days eating up to three cans of it! In the last week or so, he stopped eating that and would not touch his dry food either, so all I had left was some treats, he loved them and I had to be careful how many I gave him. In particular, he loved some I brought back from the US, they were Catnip flavour, lol! When I took him to the vet on his final journey, I took these with me and he enjoyed his final meal. There were some left and Todd, the Vet Hospital’s cat, showed a liking for them!

This was a really hard decision for me, made worse by the fact there was now no cat in the house to comfort me. The last few days he lost a lot of weight so it was the right decision, certainly it was the best thing for Seb, now he does not have to suffer any more. I did not realise how much he had worked his way into my soul and how badly his passing would affect me! He was such a photogenic cat, hence all the pohtos of him, lol!!

So my 46 year sojourn with cats has ended with Seb, certainly while I am travelling. I am not sure if I will ever be able to have another one, I hope I can but who knows. I will try and foster for the local SPCA when I am home next spring/summer.

Splash, Honey, Sylvie and Seb(astian) together at home with me!