I always told myself, if I was to get another cat, it would be a pure black cat. I have no idea why, but I find black cats so beautiful and ever since the black stray my mother took in when I was 12 passed away, I've always wanted a black cat of my own. Shadow, had come into our lives when she had crept out of the shadows to say hello to my mum one night whilst she waited for a taxi to go to work. We took her in for the night as it was a bitter night, before letting her go the next morning. By the following evening though, she was back, and so continued our relationship with her. She was such a beauty of a cat with a sweet temperament to match, it was a shame we didn't get to spend as much time with her as we had hoped as it was clear she was an older cat when she came to us. It's been 15 years but I still remember the long haired beauty that she was.
In those 15 years though, we've had many pets whom have come and gone but the latest to was Tabby. True to his name he was a grey tabby cat and had the most gorgeous markings, but he was more of a tiger than a cat as he was a big boy. He was a funny one too though because although we had him from a kitten, he somehow made himself feral and spent more and more time away from home. Admittedly, he was never neutered and lived his life as a true tom cat.
However the summer of this year, it seemed his time was drawing to the end. The last 6 weeks of his life he had stayed indoors with no interest to go back out. A trip to the vets brought home how ill he had become. we tried a couple of antibiotics with him to see if it helped at all, and he took to them great for a couple of weeks. that is until a week after his course had ended and the old symptoms returned, his immune system was non existent. I knew what the right thing to do was. I just had to explain it to Jodie who expectedly, was absolutely devastated by the thought of putting her beloved pet down. In early August, we said goodbye to our house tiger as he was put down at the vets. My mum and Jodie said their goodbyes before heading to the waiting room, and I stayed with him as he passed away peacefully. We were all a blubbering mess. Tabby was 10 when he crossed the rainbow bridge, but I still cant help but to expect to see him at my kitchen door wanting to come in.
Barely 3 months since Tabby's passing and we have now welcomed a new cat shaped addition to our family and we couldn't be more happier. I was so reluctant to even contemplate homing another cat after the heartache of loosing Tabby. I even turned down rehoming kittens from 2 friends! But my mind couldn't help its self but wander the internet. Nothing wrong with looking right? Wrong. I came across a beautiful pure black cat named Olaf on the RSPCA website and it was love at first sight. However I did contemplate him. But over the next few days I couldn't get him out of my mind, even Jodie loved the look of him. It was 4 days before I enquired about him and was told to visit the local centre where he was homed. 2 days later, we made the half an hour journey navigating narrow country roads trying to find the centre. On arrival, I filled in the Perfect Match form and was shown to the cattery where we finally met him. He was such a pudding and immediately took to both Jodie and I.
By the following week, he was home! The process took a week from the first meeting to picking him up. In that week, we had to pass a home visit by one of the RSPCA volunteers and I had to ask my local housing authority, whom I rent from, to get in touch with the RSPCA to pass on their consent to allow myself to keep a cat in the house. It all worked out in the end and Olaf settled in the moment he arrived. The RSPCA gave me all the information I needed about Olaf that included his approximate age, weight (for feeding guides), when his flee and worming treatment was due, set up his microchip and even gave us 6 weeks free insurance from More Than. They were truly amazing and I was surprised at how quick everything happened. One week I'm just looking and the next, he was here!
It's been a week now and he is still loving life and has claimed a spot in every room in the house. The right side of the sofa, the corner at the top of the stairs, Under Jodie's bed, the pillows on my bed and even a cosy spot next to the radio on a kitchen counter. He's also a sucker for some cuddles. As I'm settling down in bed, he'll hop on and make himself cosy on my chest. I now understand all the Cat memes I see online. Tabby was never one to come and sit on your lap, he was quite content just sprawled on the floor, so now experiencing this type of kitty love is a new thing for me. I quite like it and finding myself to be a proper cat mom to him. I even plan to put him on a harness on his first walk outdoors just to make sure that wherever he wanders to, he'll know the way home if I'm with him first.
The transformation to a single crazy cat lady has begun!
The RSPCA do an amazing job at keeping all animals safe and taking in abandoned pets, however the costs do mount up and my local centre alone spends around £1,300 a day on keeping the centre running. I do plan in the future to visit again with Donations, but if you would like to help, you can look up your local centre and either donate by setting up a small direct debit with them, or Donate Food (some centres even do a wish list on amazon). Every little helps and they are so deserving of it for everything they do. Olaf is such a happy boy now with the help and care he received after his abandonment, I cant thank them enough for allowing him into our lives!