Cats

I have three.

Love the little blighters to bits. Two are rescues and one came 'free to a good home'. Now they are all elderly but hopefully have a fair few years in them yet. They are great on 'rodent patrol' in the garden. And they are very good as stress-relievers and blood-pressure-reducers and there's nothing quite like the sound of a contented purr when a cat is the object of gentle fur-rubbing. It's the only sound that soothes when I'm suffering a monster migraine. It's very calming when one is in pain. My cats have saved the NHS a fortune in medicine bills. Well, sort of!

Each of my felines is very much an individual with his/her own personality, likes and dislikes. They show emotion, such as joy, contentment, excitement and "hurry up with that sachet of cat food, human!" amongst many. They also respond to human emotion. They seem to know just when I'm in need of a bit of cat therapy.

The one in the picture is my feral rescue. He's a character all right. If there's somewhere he shouldn't be, that's where you'll find him. If there's something he shouldn't be doing, he'll be attempting it. With a "Who, me?" expression when caught out. He's my "Bad cat!" and I wouldn't change him. Now an elderly cat, it's only taken over ten years for him to realise that a human lap is okay to sit on after all. He has a very loud purr which can be heard to best effect at feeding time. He's not the brightest of felines, having only one brain cell. That brain cell is devoted to all things edible. In the matter of locating and eating food, he is a genius. He's never forgotten his feral origins in that he is always on the lookout for food. It's as if he still can't quite convince himself that there's no threat of starving, so he had better eat anything and everything that may be edible to a feline. He's a good hunter, having caught rabbit, pheasant and rat alongside the more usual mice, voles and shrews.


Mind you, he can send a fax, so perhaps he's not completely stupid after all.


He came to me via a rescue organisation known as PACT, the People For Animal Care Trust based in mid-Norfolk. Why I like PACT is that if you ever visit there it's pretty clear that their main focus is on looking after the animals in their care and NOT flash premises that look nice to the human eye with a modern visitor centre. The emphasis is on their animal charges. An animal coming into the care of PACT is never euthanised unless there is a medical reason to do so. I like that reasoning. So if you're out and about in Norfolk and you see a person collecting money for PACT, please consider parting with some of that loose change in your pocket as all donations are gratefully received and are used for the benefit of the animals in their care.