The Family of Dead Cats

by Crystal
(Syd, NSW, Aus)

TIBBS: Nickname: Sargeant Tibbs (101 Dalmations): Black and White: Male: Blue eyes

WILLOW: Nickname: Willow Kitty: Brown: Female: Green eyes

Tibbs and Willow were - yes WERE - my two cats. Tibbs seemed very protective of Willow, and wouldn't let her go outside unless he was with her. Seriously, whenever she even walked PAST the door, he'd run to the cat-flap and hiss.

Tibbs was always with Willow, and one day I noticed Willow's nipples. They weren't pink, they were more of a red.

Throughout the pregnancy, Willow stayed closer to her mate, and when it was two weeks before the special day, someone came to my house with Sargeant Tibbs in his arms.

The black and white tom was flattened and bloody. His eyes were tightly closed and his tail was crinkled. Sadly, Tibbs had died. The man who brought him in was very teary too. Though he was not the person who ran my cat over, he felt guilty. Of course he came and went, and so did time.

I put Tibbs down near Willow, and the brown female came running and pressed her nose into Tibbs' chest, before she started licking his face.

I'm still not sure, but I think she was trying to nurse him back to health :(

One week later, I had put up the Christmas Tree (did I mention it was near Christmas?) and layed out a big box with newspapers in it. Later that week, Willow gave birth to four healthy - or at least I thought they were healthy - kittens.

The brown, black and white tom I named Oscar. He was strong, and the biggest of the litter.

The brown one with a patch on his ear I named Teddy. His fur was fluffy and his eyes were very big.

Toby was a little black boy. He was the smallest and the shyest.

Then there was ablack and white female. I called her Dora - after Dora the explora. She was wild. She climbed curtains and rammed herself against Oscar.

Two weeks after the birth, Toby was found dead pushed up against the wall with rat bites in his stomach. I got the place checked for rats soon after. Sure enough, there was a whole nest of them.

Not long after Toby had died, Teddy was found dead aswell. We took him to the vet and got told he had a heart problem.

The kittens were weaned now. I was going to sell them, but Willow would have been heartbroken without them. After all, her beloved mate was dead.

So we kept them, and a good thing it was too. Because Dora died of an unknown cause. Now, four cats were buried outside my house.

Oscar was the only one left now, and he was no longer the playful tom he used to be. He sulked around the house and "cried" at night. When Oscar was 3 months old, he was killed the same way his father was. I'm not sure, but I think this family was never meant to be...

And so I watched my last cat very closely. One night she died in her sleep, and I cuddled her for a whole day. She was after all my last cat. And so all six cats are buried in my backyard right now. Each with a small plark reading:

For the small family that was never meant to be
God Bless Them

One day a ginger kitten found its way into my house. His name was - and still is (thankfully) - Archie. I looked for his owner, and when no home was found for him, I kept him.

Archie still remains with me today, but I will never forget the Family of Dead Cats, who are all together in Heaven right now.