In Memory of my Beautiful Girl

You were such a tiny cat when I got you (aged about 2) from the Newbury Cats Protection on 7th November 1998.

Tigger, you were so shy and spent hours hiding away. Who can wonder at that after you had had two previous homes, in one of which you had most definately been maltreated by a man. You were terrified of any men that came around, from family to friends to even the tradesmen..... You were also such a fiesty girl to start with!

Over the years Tigger you softened. When we moved from a flat to a house with a garden, you were still such an indoor girl, but you loved watching out of the window. In fact one evening I had the window slighly ajar (the old sort of window) and you somehow managed to open the window fully and jump out~horror...but luckily you just went and sat on the doormat and when I opened the door, there you were :)

After that, just occasionally you liked to jump out of the window and play outside for a short while.

Even in later years you loved playing with toy mice, ribbons and strangely reflections on the wall from the venetian blinds.... but it took 12 years for you to be comfortable lying on my lap!

On the 12th March last year, a friend brought you home from the cattery (as I'd been in hospital and couldn't drive). The minute you were out of the basket you began acting very strangely, and then being very ill. The vomit was streaked with red, so we called the vet and rushed you over there.... Sadly your heart was beating so fast, the vet said that if we didn't put you out of your misery you would have a heart attack. Her explanation was that your tumour (which you'd had for a couple of years) had got into the blood stream and to the heart... It could have happened any time!

It was a bad time for me, recovering from major knee surgery at the same time as losing Tiggger, but as you may already know a month later to the day, I got Billy and started writing on blip more regularly after a long break.

You can read Billy's Story here!

I couldn't bear the loss of Tigger, and had to get another cat sooner than a lot of my friends suggested was right. But what was right for them, was not right for me!

Remembering Tigger (aged 16) with fondness, sleep tight my Beautiful Girl!