Goodbye Thomas

Thomas went back to the RSPCA to be rehomed last Thursday lunchtime. I have been trying to prepare myself for this - it is always a wrench when you have had a cat or kitten for a while, but I bonded with Thomas as soon as I met him, and because of his injuries I've had him for longer then normal. So I knew this time it was going to be particularly difficult.

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The RSPCA driver knows me well by now. He left me alone to say goodbye and stayed at the side of his van while I gave Thomas a last cuddle. I had the biggest lump in my throat as I took Thomas out to him, but managed to hold the tears back.

I stayed remarkably upbeat about it all for the rest of the day, and only got upset when I got back home and he wasn't on the windowsill to greet me. The RSPCA had asked if I would like to visit him on the Saturday to help him settle in and I jumped at the chance. When I got there I was so excited I actually felt quite embarassed at myself!

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He was hissing and spitting at everyone - possibly because that is the first place he went after being found injured and he associates it with the pain he was in at the time. His picture is now the screensaver on all of the pcs at the shelter as an example of when NOT to approach a cat!

Within a minute he was back to the big purry tractor that I know so well, we were both so glad to see each other. I spent 20 minutes with him and then I went back again on Sunday and this time spent nearly an hour with him. He never stopped purring the whole time I was there. I hope it helped him to start associating the place with nicer feelings. I really want possible new families to see him as a big purry cat, not as a scary demon cat!

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I'm going back tomorrow and feel like I'm visiting an old friend. I hope when I get there he is happy and doesn't need me anymore. But I'll be gutted if he doesn't.

The Pitter Patter

Scribble

Fudge

I still thought at this point that Scribble was a girl and Fudge a boy. I had no idea about the number of kittens that go homeless and the fight the RSPCA has to get cats neutered at this point. I had decided that Scribble would be allowed to have a litter or two of kittens, whereas Fudge would be neutered to stop "him" wandering. I dreamed of a house full of tiny long haired grey kittens.

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Scribble and Fudge

My first trip to the vet with them changed my ideas slightly. He told me I had them the wrong way round, and Scribble was the boy. (Thankfully their names weren't sex dependent). And he was very negative about my idea of Fudge having kittens. He was the first person who mentioned to me the problem there are with so many unwanted cats. But I thought he was just being a misery, and I wanted kittens so much that I stuck to my guns.

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I thought that as Fudge was Scribble’s sister there was still a chance of long haired kittens from her gene pool, but as it happened Fudge obviously didn't pass either that gene or the grey gene to her kittens. She had two litters, all of them black and white, or just solid black.

Once the first ones were born, I really didn't care what colour they were. They were the most amazing thing that had happened. I was literally awe inspired by them. I would race home at lunchtime and eat my food as quickly as possible and then sit on the floor at the side of Fudge and the babies just watching them. I took hours of video of them just moving around, feeding and sleeping. I am a very sad case!!!