RIP Stripey 1

diplomaticandtactful

Well-Known Member
Apr 25, 2003
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Found dead this morning in her basket. She was 20 plus and was a very damaged cat, due to people letting her down all her life.

As a kitten she and her brother Tom were locked in a shed, they were rescued from there but their new owners moved and left them both behind. Tom was bolder and introduced himself to a family who took him in, they didn't know about Stripey. ...She was shy and lived rough for a while, eventually being trapped and taken in by Cats Protection.

She was in pens for 18 months as she was withdrawn, unsociable, unhandled, refused to interact at all with people. We went looking for a cat when one of ours died, saw her late at night, she was asleep, we stroked her, she purred, she came home with us.

She hid for a couple of months, then one night we couldn't find her, reckoned she has snuck out....scoured the house, couldn't find her, left the door open and around 5am saw a stripey person saunter in....after that she was allowed out as she clearly knew she was living with us.

She was at times a lap cat - but on her terms - other times when she didn't like another cat, she moved into the barn. She was always a great outdoor cat. When we were going to move house, we worried we wouldn't be able to get her in, so we kept her in for 2 months before the move, just to be sure. After that she was actually happy to stay in, she had options to go out but she stayed put.

She spent the last 2 years living in our bedroom, with Kitkat, the other cat who moved with us from Sussex, she was quite happy on the sofa or bed or window seat. She refused to use her litter tray, so we put incontinence pads and towels down and that was fine by her. She had a few near misses, bad mouth abscess that nearly finished her (all teeth out), but she soldiered on, I thought she was indestructible as while she was skinny, she ate well, was very loud (deaf) and was happy in herself.

A huge personality, in a tiny cat. What a pity that her earlier experiences coloured her entire life, she could have had so much better a life if those things hadn't happened to her. But in the end, she was happy in her own little way, she enjoyed her home, being stroked and cuddled as she got older she was more accepting of attention, and actually sought it out.

I really thought she would be around forever, she was such a tough old girl, she looks a pathetic little scrap lying there dead, all her personality gone, But despite her unique approach to life, we loved her to bits and never resented all the mess, all the accommodations to suit Stripey. Really sad she is gone.
 
Oh dear poor Stripey - but what a wonderful way to go, peacefully in her sleep in a safe and loved environment. She sounded such a character and I am sure the hole she leaves behind will be hard to fill and you will miss her hugely. But wasn't she lucky to find you, and weren't you lucky to find her., such a sad start in life but such a lovely and dignified end for her.
 
awwe RIP Stripey. Sounds like she was very lucky the day you chose her :)
 
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