Phoebe

Alas, poor Phoebe is no more. A wound on her nose didn't heal. In fact it got worse and worse. The problem spread to her lungs and she became a very poorly puss in a very short time. Then came the day when the vet said Phoebe was suffering and that was it - she didn't come home. After being a part of the household for over nine years, she's a much missed mog, despite all her faults...

Phoebe was a real babe - pure white fur. Fortunately she wasn't deaf, unlike many white cats. Marian got her from a local cat refuge. (Actually she was a present to Marian from Mick, Splodge's owner.) Phoebe ended up there because her previous owners had ill-treated her. Sounds like she didn't have a very happy early life. She was in the refuge for about six months until they found a suitable home for her. A lot of people wanted a white cat as an ornament not really as a household pet, which is why she was there so long.

When she first went outside after settling in with us, there was a strong wind blowing. She'd forgotten what wind ruffling her fur felt like and she didn't like it. Ended up crouching right down on the ground for a few minutes. Still doesn't like outdoors much.

Downside (if you're another cat) was that she learned to stand up for herself while in the refuge. In an argument about who is first to the food bowl, she'd win every time. There are times when it's better to give way than get a clawed nose!

Apart from having her own way and leaving white fur all over the house, Phoebe didn't seem to have any pet likes (or dislikes).

Read about how Phoebe's a very expensive cat.

Splodge

Jan 2005 Splodge is no more. The years (at least 22 of them) finally caught up with him. He got a tumour in his eye and, as he was very frail, there was nothing that could be done for him. Splodge had been a pet for 18 years so he had a good innings. His owner's was very sad to lose him though.

Splodge was the cat Phoebe and I used to live with. He was older than me so he was top cat. He was so old nobody knows exactly what age he is. At least 19 by any calculations. He got to be an old boy, with a set routine. Usually this involved following the sun around the garden, ending up in front the house waiting for someone to come home and feed him.

He was originally a stray who took some persuading that he wanted to be a household pet. After a few years he got to like it. Like a lot of older cats, he rediscovered the pleasures of sitting on laps and wants to do it all the time. When you're a young cat like me, such things are sissy. You never saw him jump onto a lap - the unsuspecting human suddenly realises that this big heavy cat had materialised on their lap.

Splodge had a passion for bacon. Start cutting up a rasher of bacon and Splodge mysteriously always appeared. His owner always had to buy an extra rasher especially for him.

Pet dislike was usually getting up in the morning. Pet like was lying in the sun. So much so that five years ago he got skin cancer on his nose. Several trips to the Veterinary Hospital in Cambridge and eventually he lost part of his nose. The last trip was a trip too many and he behaved like a real thug (that's how the vet described him!); it took three nurses to get a blood sample. He fully recovered and spent several more years lying in the sun.

Furgus

Well if ever there was a cat who didn't know how to hack it, it's Furgus. Regular readers will know that Marian took a real liking to him and it looked he was moving in. Unfortunately he likes winding up both cats and people. Phoebe was easy to work up and they had a couple of major fights. It ended up with Phoebe getting injured one day. That was it - we established cats have our rights. So Furgus was OUT, banished.

Turns out he isn't a stray after all - it's just that he preferred our house to his own. It got embarrassing (for Marian) when his owners started asking if we'd seen him - usually when Furgus was asleep in our house.

Fortunately Furgus's owner have now moved away, taking Furgus with them.

Oscar

Splodge's owner has gained another cat, who he's called "Oscar". (As in "Oscar the not-very Wilde" cat.) Haven't seen Oscar but I'm told he looks like me and his personality is similar to mine so he's pretty high in my estimation. Guess he comes from the same family of cats as me. (Actually Splodge's owner took him in because he knew what I was like.) Splodge's owner suddenly found that the weekly food bill more than doubled as Oscar has a (very) healthy appetite.