5 years ago today Harriet my tortie and white (a little madam!) was put to sleep by my vet. We didn’t know then but found out later (when another cat had to be pts) that she had the awful FIP.
A few years earlier she decide I should be her new owner and abandoned the new neighbours across the road who she came with. Why I don’t know—I neither fed her when she 1st came over or had any other cats at the time. She was a typical tortie, bad tempered and handy with her claws and teeth. Harriet would never show any real affection but I took her on and slowly she became much gentler—every warning shot now didn’t always result in drawing blood and more often than not she would bat me with a paw where her claws were in as time went on and she bit me less and less, mainly because every time she tried I would leave my hand there (very bravely) (I suspect she was often hit before she came to me) and she'd often then just hold my hand gently in her mouth looking at me a sif to say, OK I guess I won't this time. In her last year she became a lapcat and you felt priviledged that she had learned to trust. I felt so cheated when she died as her change in mood was such an achievement, and you couldn't fail to love her she had such a character. I’d nursed her for 3 weeks, feeding/watering her by syringe and sleeping with her and one sunny day in May (18th) I walked to the vets with her one last time.
Seven months later her much loved characterful fur brother Wilf-cat was also pts after suffering the same fate. And how could we forget Wilf:
I guess I was reminded of this sad day today as I just had to let another cat go. A poor cat with no name that was brought into the vets yesterday as a stray that no one wanted. As I set to work today to try to find him a rescue place the vet nurse rang to tell me that the senior partner had examined him and said his kidneys were failing and while he wasn't mine I'd temporarily claimed him and the vet respected this if I still wanted to get him into a rescue, but we both agreed it may be best to let him go. Run free sweet one (no doubt Harriet will give you hell when you get there as she always did with the newbies)
