Birdy the Immigrant Cat

Birdy the Immigrant Cat

In early summer of last year

a scruffy cat appeared my dear.

Stepping inside our cosy home

strolling about, a nosy roam.

She stepped into our living room

what was there? Or indeed whom?

Turning tail to run up the stair

curious to find what was up there.

The next few times she would call

by climbing over our high back wall,

she followed me at my feet

I in turn, gave a little snack to eat.

In time she chose to live with us

(bringing a mouse in caused a fuss).

We had to get rid of some pesky fleas

the scratching ended; that should please.

She stays at home whilst it’s light

and then goes out to hunt or fight,

or find a mouse with whom to play,

then sleeping soundly half the day.

She comes running in when I get up

on china plate, food and milk to sup

Now her coat has a silky shine

and I consider that she is mine. 

From years ago some of our many other cats Pu Yi here

 

This morning I grasped the nettle well and truly and realised very quickly what a big mistake that can be for some. The nettle grasp took the form of trip to the vet. I had been putting off this moment for some time but after a talk with my daughter I realised that it had to be done.

                                                   This was Heidi also a Rex cat

The beautiful cat that the poem here is all about Birdy, who first started to visit us early last summer on a casual basis but long ago well and truly moved in to our home and we have come to love her to pieces. Of course she is very independent as is the character of most cats. As with the old and very true expression; Dogs have owners but cats have staff! 

                                                    The Great Babar our first rex cat

The reason I have put off taking her to the vet is that I realised that there was a possibility that she might be chipped and registered to an earlier owner. When she moved in with us, I did post photos of her always adding that “This is not my cat”, even though she struts around as if she owns the place and is very demanding, making her wishes very plain without having to speak cat fluently. She feels like very much our cat now.

                                        Wion, Pu Yi and Heidi at the top and Perry the rag doll cat in bed 

About two weeks ago I bought a cat carrier from Amazon because of the impending visit to the vets. I should add at this point that my husband Steve and I have not had a cat for many years, we had always had several cats before, due to a nasty virus that one cat caught, and then passed on to another and another. This is just like we are seeing in the world now with the Corona Virus. We lost our three cats in quick succession and were so distraught about it that we did not want to get another cat for a very long time until this minx arrived because we could not face that hurt again. It has been many years maybe as many as fifteen years that we have been cat less.

These two are Pu Yi again who was a Devon Rex and a rescue cat Tempest from Shepherds Bush market.

So this cat appearing and working her way slowly into our affections have been a long slow final therapy and we are happy again to have a new member of our family.

As I sat waiting for my turn this morning my stomach was churning at the thought that maybe even after nine of ten months that she may have another family who were wondering where she was.

Sure enough when I told the vet that I wanted to register Birdy, they took down the details asking how old she was. That was the point when I said that she was a stray squatter who had moved in gradually and had lived with us from a quite long time. Well cutting this a little shorter the vet checked to see is she was chipped and sure enough she was. Having finished checking her over the vat agreed that she was a beautiful cat and that she was obviously well cared for. However the fact that she was chipped had to be checked out. 

                                               Another rescue cat Tigger

The vet rang me this afternoon to say that they had tried to get in touch with the previous owners but not succeeded and there was no record of any treatment. Amazingly the vet who realised that she lived close to the previous owners had gone to the house but had found a sold notice outside. She told me that she would write, from the practice to try to contact the original home and let me know what the outcome was.

Obviously we are on tender hooks now because if they are contacted and if they want her back, we will have to hand her over and face heartbreak all over again. 

   

                           The Gayer Anderson Cat In the British museum

                                  Copy of the Gayer Anderson Cat in our home