Some people
may find this a little daft but for me a tribute to my cat is my way of remembering
a truly lovely cat. I am sure all you cat lovers out there will understand my
reasoning!
Our cat
Nelly was a rescue cat and we got him from the local ROCK shelter (Rescue Of
Cats and Kittens) in the year 2000. All
the cats were housed in cage like structures (good cage structures with plenty
of space before someone calls the authorities!) and then there was Nelly, a
special case, lying very comfortably in a bedroom, on a very comfy quilt and
absolutely stinking of the worst floral shampoo ever! We went over to Nelly who
proceeded to head butt us in the most loving way, we knew then that we had to
have him. It turns out Nelly had been
abused, he was found abandoned, filthy to the core (hence the very strong
shampoo), starving and he had had his whiskers cut off, he was approximately 6
months old. We took him home to meet Nobby (our other cat), after much growling
and spiky fur efforts they became companions (well, they tolerated one
another!). After Nelly’s first appointment at the vets, it turned out Nelly was
actually a boy so Nelly quickly became Nelson, but Nelly for short!
Nelly was a
very special cat, not just because he was ours, he was a cat with an attitude,
a bad attitude so woe betide anyone (or more specifically any animal) to cross
his path!.
Nelly’s
habit of attacking dogs that walked past our house is definitely his most
prominent legacy. I remember when I was
talking to a man up the road and Nelly wandered past, he said to me ‘Watch out…It’s
the Killer Cat!’ to which I replied ‘Errr, that’s my cat!’.
Whenever a
dog passed our house, Nelly would launch himself, claws spread wide and attack
any dog no matter what its size. We
could see dogs pulling their owners into the road to avoid a sudden onslaught
from the killer cat. This did concern me,
however the vet said he was just very territorial and there was nothing we
could do….I honestly thought Nelly’s dying day would involve a hard dog versus
a hard cat fight and Nelly would lose but alas his notoriety held as the
‘hardest cat on the street’.
The only dog
Nelly would tolerate was our dog Barney…when I say tolerate, if Barney even
sniffed Nelly’s food a direct swipe to his head would cause him to run away!
Even my mum’s dog knew to give Nelly a wide berth…after being swiped on
numerous occasions.
I also
believe Nelly had an eating disorder….he ate constantly! He was starved as a
kitten so food was precious to him…however, he would only eat food if he saw it
coming out of the tin! I’ve never known a cat who could stare at you for
hours…his stare just said ‘feed me, feeeeeeedd me!!’ I’d often see how long he
could stare for (or realistically what will power I had not to feed him) one
staring competition lasted 2 hours and guess who won? Nelly of course.
He was also
a very good mouser; we often got headless presents and frequently heard him
crunching on some poor mouse outside the back door- Yuck.
Nelly had a
real swagger too…that was what made him particularly noticeable (apart from a
strong resemblance to Sylvester the cartoon cat!) I cannot really describe the
way he walked other than it was just like a lion- it was a slow, self- assured
swagger. So many people commented they
had never seen a cat swagger so much!
Nelly had
the most wonderful purr- a low constant purr and his nose would run every time
he purred…cute but wet!
Nelly was a well-known
cat and despite his nutty tendencies we did love him and we know he wanted to
protect us (especially from passing dogs!)
In May this
year Nelly became ill, he lost a vast amount of weight in a short space of time
and his get up and go had just gone so we took him to the vet. They did some blood tests and discovered that
he was unable to absorb protein, hence the weight loss. They advised us that if he wasn’t any better
in 3 days (after medication) we should bring him back and consider euthanizing
him- this was a decision I really didn’t want to make as although he was poorly
he was eating ok and still doing cat things, just much more slowly. After 3 days he perked up so we took him back
a week later as advised. This time they
could feel possible tumours in his intestines and told us he most likely had
cancer. We were so upset but again
having to make the decision to end his life was awful, we knew it had to be
done but still it was very difficult. We
decided to have the weekend with him and then take him to the vets the
following week. I am sure Nelly heard me
on the phone….or had a sixth sense… I made the phone call to arrange his final
journey for the next morning. I then went
to the supermarket and got Nelly fresh salmon and chicken as I knew he loved
it! He did indeed love it, he was purring throughout his meal and scoffing to
his heart’s content! After his meal I gave him a cuddle and a kiss and he went
out the back door….and he never came home again. We were so worried; I couldn’t
sleep wondering where he was. I knew
deep down he had gone to die but I kept thinking, what if he is in pain? I
don’t want him to die alone, it was awful.
I decided to put posters around the village and through letterboxes asking
people to check their gardens, sheds etc.
People were unbelievably kind, people checked their homes, gardens, the
local park, everywhere, and so many people asked if he had been found. One lady even checked all her wardrobes and
under her beds (Nelly was once found sleeping under her bed!). Nelly may have been known as ‘The Killer cat’
but everyone loved him, that was obvious from everyone’s concerns. After a week we accepted he was never coming
home and he never did. My children think
that he has gone to Valhalla (Viking Heaven) as he truly was a Viking Cat and
dealt with his own death in the most natural way for an animal. I am grateful I gave him a good substantial
‘last supper’, that last cuddle and our memories of Nelly will last a lifetime.
To some a cat is a cat but to us Nelly was an exceptional cat whose bad
attitude and unfathomable eating habits just made him adorable!
Rest in
Peace Nelly.
