Tonight is Bonfire night and I have enjoyed listening to the fireworks
outside while I am nice and cosy and warm inside.
Bonfire night has reminded me though that this is not such a good time for
the poor animals who must be so frightened at the loud noises. It also
reminded me of my beautiful cats who though sadly are no longer alive, were
wonderful company after they made their home here. There were cats here
when my family and I came to look round to see if we would like to buy the
bungalow but they were from someone else’s house and they just adopted the
previous owner.
My cats came from the Cats’ Protection League and seemed to like it as soon
as they arrived although one of them did disappear for three days but once
returning never lefct. There was the beautiful Sandy who was Ginger and
White and the equally beautiful Cleo (also known as Cleopatra Kitten), who
was a tortoiseshell and white cat. Sandy was the mischievious one while
Cleo preferred to be the lazy, sleepy and less active version of the cat
family.
On Bonfire night I would spend an anxious evening while Sandy went out
through the cat flap for her nightly visit next door; she adopted my
neighbours quite soon after she arrived here. Sandy would be gone for hours
and I would start to worry about her getting caught up in the fireworks or
whether she had had a heart attack and been so frightened. Around Midnight
the bell on her collar would ring as she came through the cat flap and I
would say ‘And where have you been?’ in a scolding sort of way but would be
so relieved to have her home.
Then there was the day that Sandy singed her tail on the coal fire in the
bungalow next door. She was often up to little tricks like that and on that
occasion, the smell was obvious as soon as she arrived home. She would
often sit on the inside of the kitchen window sill and look longingly at the
birds outside and a ‘present’ was often left just inside the back door to
show her appreciation which was lost on me as the mice were sometimes still
alive.
Cleo was there through all this but seemed to be taking it all in. She
loved nothing better than curling up on my lap or her favourite chair and
purred in her own special quiet way which I am sure was her way of singing.
She was a very contented cat. Cats have always been a part of my life but
these two were particularly special.
Anne.