It was raining buckets the day we first heard about Clive … you know the sort of rain where it’s coming down so hard it bounces back up again? The messager said that they thought he’d been living rough for some time but now he’d been approaching them for help because he had a nasty wound on his tail.
And so we went over to collect a very damp, miserable, dirty and wounded cat. His tail was matted with blood and gunk and investigation at the vets the following day clearly showed puncture wounds from a fight … presumably with another unneutered tom cat. We were keen to have him neutered as soon as possible because the smell of unnuetered tom cat permeates the house like nothing else. Unfortunately the vet pointed out that there would be a serious risk of infection from the fight wound if he were to be operated on straight away. So Clive and I had a tough few weeks, him enduring a cone to prevent him from licking his wound and the rest of the family enduring the stink.
Finally the misery was over, the op was done and Clive was settling into life in the rescue. He started to realise that it was good to be warm and dry and well fed and increasingly loved having head rubs and cuddles. We decided it was time for him to meet Martyn & Morven: brother and sister about 6 months old.
They hit it off pretty much instantly and spent hours together sharing stories about the different lives they’d lived. Martyn & Morven knew nothing other than being in rescue, having arrived with mum at only one day old. Clive had been everywhere, seen everything … the kittens were spellbound with his tales. Then the day arrived when Martyn & Morven found their own place and moved out.
Clive was sad. Not least because he was then sharing space with Mildred, the twenty year old we mentioned in our previous post. Although Mildred was half Clive’s weight and a fraction of his strength, Clive was terrified. One hiss from Mildred and he’d retreat. When Mildred moved on to a lovely foster home Clive was alone again, recovering from the trauma of the scary old lady.
We knew that what he needed was another kitten to take care of. So when we had a message about a young kitten who had been thrown out the house into some bushes, we knew we had to go and get her. We think Freja was about 8 weeks when we collected her, and if the finder’s understanding of the situation was accurate, ours was going to be the 4th home she’d lived in. She was full of cat flu and had a horrid eye infection so had to live separately at first.
Once recovered, we introduced Clive and Freja. It was quickly apparent that they were each exactly what each other needed. Clive needed a non threatening companion. Freja needed someone to make her feel safe and take care of her. She quite obviously adores Uncle Clive and looks to him to take the lead in whatever they do.
They’re now looking for their own place together. We can’t bear to separate them.
8 Lives: Sheffield 8 Cat Rescue 