In memory of..

Dolly

We were very sad to lose Dolly a couple of months ago due to old age. Her kidneys and liver were beginning to fail and we couldn't bear to see her suffer. She was such a character, and was so grumpy when she first came home to us. She had a real love hate relationship with our one-eared wonder cat Loppy! He loved tormenting her and she just hated him! But once she settled down she was so loving and would love to curl up on your lap for hours. Dolly loved prawns and would do anything for her favourite treat - she would get quite excited and frequestently mistook my fingertips for prawns! She also loved to lay out in the sun and would stretch out on her back with her belly in the air. We will miss our feisty little lady.

Before we had the chance to make a trip to FOAL to offer another OAP a home to join our current residents Smokey and Speedy, a friend of mine contacted me about her grandmothers cat - a 13 year old ginger female with a rather large lump on her chest. Her grandmother was going into a home and they had desperately been trying to find a home for 'Ginge' but due to her health and age weren't having any success. It was looking like the end of the line for her, so she has joined our other 2 OAP's! Unfortunately after a biopsy, we discovered the lump is a tumour but non-aggressive so hopefully she has a while yet! At least we can offer her a comfortable loving home in her final years.

Having now had 7 OAP's I could never go back - every time we lose one, everyone asks why don't we get a kitten or younger cat, its less heartache etc. etc. but there is nothing like the satisfaction you get from knowing that you have offered an old cat a warm comortable and loving home to live out the rest of their days in. I'm sure i've sensed what feels like relief from all the cats we've had - they seem so happy and content with just a warm bed, a lap to sit on and regular meals. I would definitely strongly encourage anyone to consider an older cat - it is upsetting when you lose them, however long you have had them for, but it is so rewarding and the satisfaction far outweighs the heartache!