Feline makes 25 years

                       From Sandton to Somerset West

On 1^st January 1976 a ‘stray’ cat gave birth to four kittens in the roof of a cottage at Grayston Stables in Sandton Johannesburg. The cottage no longer exists having been demolished to make way for the Holiday Inn that now stands in Grayston Drive – but one of the four kittens is still alive and well!

I was offered one of the kittens – and although I wasn’t yet ready to own a cat (living in an apartment in Johannesburg) I agreed to take a female from the litter. There wasn’t much choice, as the litter comprised three boys and one girl. Two brothers were brown tabbies with white socks and bibs – and the remaining boy and girl were blue tabbies also with the same white points.

From day one she was different to her brothers. When I viewed them in mid-February, the boys were playing with a small toy in the middle of the lounge floor while their sister was under a couch, growling. She has never liked company – neither cats nor people. Surprisingly though, she has never had a fight in her life. Every time she is confronted with another cat (from her home environment or an over-the-wall visitor) she simply screams. But it is a blood-curdling scream – so loud and so frightening that the other feline just runs away! Sometimes she runs – straight into the house to avoid any confrontation.

Her obnoxious manner has persisted, her aloofness never subsides. A truly anti-social individual most inappropriately named ‘Liefie’ (Lovey).

When she was spayed (at about 8 months) she returned from hospital and picked out the stitches from the wound causing her intestines to drop onto the big floor pillow! Of course she was rushed back to hospital immediately and everything was disinfected and she was sewn up again – this time using double stitches to prevent a repeat unpick! Perhaps the stamina that she displayed at that early age was an indication of her physical strength to follow throughout her life. To date she has only been ill once. She was diagnosed with tonsillitis at age 15 months. (At that time it was only her hoarse muted screams that led anyone to believe she wasn’t 100% well).

She did grow to tolerate me – and even showed some affection. In winter months she would sleep under the bed covers and take a piece of my bed shirt into her mouth and suck on it until there was a wet circle. This wasn’t a rare occurrence – it happened every night throughout every winter!

She has always travelled well. Visits from Johannesburg to Cape Town via Kimberley went without a hitch (except in the very hot weather when ice cream was all that would cool her down). But she is no roamer. With open gates at the house she never even tried to venture beyond the boundaries on her own.

Two attempts were made to introduce her to a more social life – both in the form of cat show. Entered in the kitten ‘pet’ class at the Rand Cat Club’s show in July 1976 at Alberton, she was disqualified – because the stewards could not get her out of her cage – and even the show manager was to afraid to try! After a second attempt the next year (and the same result) I gave up on the idea.

Today she lives in Somerset West – spending her daytime hours on a large balcony under the shade of a very old palm tree and still talking to no-one. She’s now almost completely deaf and a little arthritic (particularly in winter) – but she eats like a horse and has all her teeth. The vet says she’s in good shape – a little thin (to be expected) but otherwise not bad for 175 cat years old!