01.30
Millie was rescued by my husband eighteen months ago, a tiny scrap of orange on the side of the busy main road. He at first thought she had been hit by a car because she was so motionless, but she was just petrified, and when he stopped the car and scooped her up she quickly responded with loud purring. He brought her home and to the disgust of the two elder cats she soon settled in and made herself at home.
She turned into a beautiful cat with unusual amber coloured eyes.
As a kitten she loved to play in boxes
and as she grew older she liked to sit with me in my studio propped up against my sewing machine.
She never got the chance to grow old; last week she went down with a virus and by the time we realized she was seriously ill it was already too late. The vet did what he could and I did everything I could to save her but to no avail and she died last Thursday.
Just over a week later on Friday morning our beautiful, gentle cat Hector died. He was almost seventeen years old and we noticed a sudden deterioration in his condition when we got back from the Philippines at the end of December. We found several small lumps on his body and then these rapidly grew and several of them burst. We got the vet to look at him and he gave him some attention but he was unable to do anything more and didn’t really tell us what the problem was. I’m guessing that he must have had cancer.
Hector was also a cat we rescued from the street and brought with us to Brunei from Spain where we were living at the time. He was the gentlest, sweetest natured cat that I’ve ever come across. He really hated to do anything to offend and I don’t think he ever killed anything apart from the occasional lizard; even then he was very gentle and didn’t really seem to want to harm them.
He was a very elegant cat, and also everyone described him as long, and he was almost a metre nose to tail when stretched out on the sofa or bed. He was also a constant companion in my studio and I will miss him very much too.
Luckily we still have little Molly the black kitten and she is a great consolation.
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Hi Anne,
I’m so sorry about your little Millie and your beautiful Hector!
I do hope this gets to you – I’ve tried to leave comments before and I get shut out! (not your fault!).
I would love to send you a small lino print I have made if you would like it. It looks so much like the photo you have posted! I’ll post a photo to my blog!
I really would like to to have a print – I will call it Hector from now on!
Hugz
sorry about the cats, I feel for you, we use to have cats but kept them outside as one of our son-in-laws is very allergic. We live near a highway and one day woke up to realize we had lost two cats the same night – both laying up on the road only a few feet apart having been hit by cars. Only several weeks later the last one had been hit also – I have not had cats since. I feel since I can’t keep them in the house safe I do not need them.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
I am so very sorry for your loss. I had to go pick up my orange female tabby, Sunshine, and give her a hug after reading of your Millie passing away.
Cindy
http://www.asewsewday.blogspot.com
I remember when you both said you did not want a cat and the kittens were down below at the flat in Spain. I remember how chuffed I was when you changed your minds! Hector had a great life and died as a very old contented moggie. The only problem is that you have to miss his company. So sorry about Millie. Roo
Dear friend Annie,
Beautiful tribute to two wonderful moggie mates…long may they live on in our memories.
Big hug,
Sue x
Thanks for your comments Sue, Rupert, Cindy, Karen and Sally.
Oh so sorry for the loss of your sweet companions. What a tough week for you all!
Thanks Allison, it has been hard.
Dear Anne
what a brave soul you are to write such a beautiful post about such a sad subject. I can only imagine how awful it must have been to see Millie deteriorate so quickly and lose Hector so soon after. Our thoughts are with you all as I’m sure Molly is bewildered by it all too.
Much love, Nic x
Dear Nic, it was very hard. It was a little while before I could do it, and even then I got rather teary, but I didn’t want to just pass it by. It was such a shock to lose Millie like that as she was so young, and it was terribly sad to see Hector deteriorating too. Molly does seem to miss her playmate and spends a lot more time with me in my studio now, but luckily she is a resourceful, indipendant little body and keeps herself amused too. I am going to look at some kittens today, but I don’t want to rush into anything. Love Anne x.
Hi Anne, thanks for my birthday wish. I’m glad Molly with have a new playmate and I’ll look forward to seeing the photos of your new baby. It always makes me smile to think of our 3 as kittens. It’s a delightful time and it’ll be the best medicine for healing a broken heart.
take care, love Nic x
So sorry about your cats. It’s so hard losing a furry family member. I came across your blog from a link under your quilt in the quilt gallery. Thank you for sharing your quilts and even your sad stories.
Thank you Corina, I still miss them very much now even though we now have a young kitten as a playmate for Molly. Anne