The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Cats => Topic started by: Roxy on May 12, 2012, 12:07:44 am
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I got two black kittens from a friends farm, 14 years ago. Monty met a sad end at about a year old, on the lane. Alfie (actually female!) thankfully survived the cars. She had 5 kittens, and has outlived all but one of them. Being a farm cat Alfie was very independent .....along with her daughter, known as Brow Cat, as thats the name of the field they spent most of their life in, mousing and rabbiting among the gorse bushes!!
Quite often, Alfie would not come down for food for weeks, if the hunting up on the hill was good. But I would often see her in the field, and if I rode the ponies past, or be in the field, she would come for a fuss.
The day before yesterday, she came at breakfast and then teatime, for cat biscuits, which she loved. Yesterday morning, she was there again, which was unusual. Then at teatime, she was coming over the lane from her field, walking in the middle of the road, so slow, she was holding the cars up!! I rushed down and picked her up. I carried her back to the barn, and could see she was coming to the end - she had come home to die.
I fed her and gave her a drink and she settled down in the bed of hay I made her. I debated whether to take her to the vet to have her pts, but thought that would be more stressful, and being a farm cat, not what she would want. Checked her this morning and she had passed away.
As her life ebbed away, Lillian was in the bed alongside her, giving birth to 5 kittens. :)
Alfie will be buried tomorrow up in the field where she spent the last 14 years. I will miss her when I go up the field, as she would suddenly appear from the gorse bushes for her fuss - more often than not carrying a rabbit or bird!!
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:bouquet:
She had a good life with a caring human, and her needs were considered right to the very end. :-*
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Oh, I'm so sorry :(
Helen
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:bouquet:
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Sad but lovely that she came home to die :bouquet:
Sally
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:bouquet:
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She sounds like she was lovely and had a good mum who took the best care of her. Amazing that new life started as hers ended. Enjoy the new ones and open a bottle and toast Alfie. :bouquet:
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How lovely that she came back to you for her last days.
its moving to think that despite her indipendant life as a tough little farm yard hunter she returned to you to care for her when she needed food, warmth and shelter.
She sounds like a great little cat
:cat:
Buffy
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Perfect cats life :bouquet:
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:bouquet:
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Thank you everyone for your kind words. This morning as I checked the ponies I saw a rabbit dart out of the gorse bushes. It made me smile to think that had Alfie been around, the rabbit would stand no chance.......will probably be hundreds of the blooming things now!!
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Sad to lose her but she sounds like she's had a wonderful life with you :-*
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:bouquet:
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:bouquet: sleep well Alfie cat.
and congratulations to Lillian (is she mum to our two? you know I'm terrible with names!)
x
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No, Little Blue, your cats mum is a large fluffy black and white cat,but Lillian is grandma to your cats :) She is white with a black tail.
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I knew I knew the name, just muddled up the relationship!
You do well to keep track of them all, especially with them being feral-ish... :)