When we first bought our house, number one on our shopping list was a cat. In fact we ended up with two. They grew up together and we didn't have the heart to separate them. One jet black and the other black & white with a white question mark on her back.
Unfortunately the black one, who was the most inquisitive of the pair, met an untimely end due to some form of road vehicle. We were inconsolable at our loss. It was like loosing a close family member, perhaps a child. We made the decision not to replace her for fear of upsetting the remaining cat. That was over 14 years ago.
About 5 years ago my Father-in-Law moved from a 2 bedroom house with his youngest son, Chunky, to a 1 bedroom flat on his own. It soon became apparent that he was lonely living on his own, so we encouraged him to get a cat. After a call to the Cat Protection League and a home visit to check his suitability, he had a new house mate. He was a very friendly black male cat who was about a year old.
When my Father-in-Law passed on last June, his cat went in live with my elder Brother-in-Law, Dopey. That was the logical choice at the time as we were worried about the affect of introducing a new cat to our now elderly moggie. Chunky & Chunkette already had 2 cats of their own and didn't want another.
Dopey has been having a few personnel problems of late. Due to his inappropriate relationship with alcohol he has in the last few years lost his second wife and job. Despite much support from his immediate family he has failed to change his ways. He favours making incomprehensible phone calls at stupid O'clock in the morning, which hasn't won him any friends. Quite the opposite in fact. My wife is about the only person who will talk to him, but never after about 8pm as he will be drunk and just talk utter rubbish.
In one of his now famous phone calls one Saturday in January, he told his Brother Chunky that he couldn't afford to feed the cat. He suggested that he had phoned the RSPCA and they would collect the cat from him the following day. Chunky saw red, dashed round to Dopey's house and repossessed his late Dad's cat. Since then he has been living with us.
Over the past couple of months he has been spoiled rotten, gained weight and discovered our garden, which he really enjoys. As it happens we need not have worried about the effect on our elderly feline. She is not particularly happy about his presence, but grumpily puts up with him. He stays out of her way and can run faster than her when she throws one of her a hissy fits. The only problem we have had is that he occasionally likes to wake me at 2am for a tummy rub. The word "Sucker" springs to mind.
Regards
Chris
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