Geraint Roberts - Ramblings of a would-be published novelist

Old soldiers never die...

It seems like deja vu. I had to take another cat to the vets today to put him to sleep. Smudge was a wiry old black cat, who had appeared one day at my back garden in MK as a mangy stray, stealing scraps out of the bowl.
Never accepted by the others, but adored by me as a tough old cookie and one of life's fighters. Three years ago, I was told that he was on the way out and he hung on gamely checking out other gardens, lashing out at my outraged other mogs and settling on my lap, tearing holes in my trousers as his claws began to stop retracting, with his motor running so loud. in fact, he used to purr so loud I had to throw him out of the bedroom, as I couldn't get to sleep.
He has been slowly fading and over the last few weeks his roaming area has decreased as he lost hi ability to jump. Today I found him spreadeagled in front of the food bowl, the old boy's legs had run their last race.
He was a deaf old cat and had a crinkly cauliflower ear where him and panther had bashed each other once and the blood hardened. He was a real old character. I miss you old boy

posted by Geraint @ 3:39 pm