This story is told by Scribbles and written by her mum, Andy @Andy18512371
My Lady
It was a cold, snowy day in January 1998 when the most beautiful Calico kitten was born. That kitten was me, Scribbles. My mummy was a gorgeous tortoiseshell cat, and I had six siblings, all of whom were sweet, but I was the sweetest of all. My mummy told me so. I was the leader of the pack from day one. I led my siblings into all sorts of mischief – we knocked things over, ran mad zoomies, and had lots of fun. My mummy explained I would be moving to my forever home when I was eight weeks old. The humans who looked after us would find each kittens loving home to grow up in. I thought this was very exciting! I couldn't wait to meet my forever family… although I was sad to leave my mummy. True enough, a lady came to visit one day when I was playing with my sisfurs and brofurs. She was softly spoken, with white hair and made a fuss of all of us. I liked her a lot and was very pleased when she chose me to go and live with her. She promised to love me forever! She took me to her home, where I found many toys, comfortable sleeping places, and a full bowl of food. This lady was definitely mine! At night I slept curled beside her in the big bed, and life was perfect. My fur grew long and thick. My lady would brush me gently daily, and I purr very loudly. Looking in the mirror, I saw I was growing more beautiful daily. The lady was something called "retired", I don't know what that meant except she was at home all day so whenever I needed something she could fetch it. This made me very, very happy.
Little Sister
When I was two years old, my lady brought home a little tuxedo kitten called Socks. I was shocked – I didn't need a little sisfur, I was quite happy playing with my friends in the neighbourhood and going home at night to be spoiled by my lady… What would I do with a kitten? She was a bit of a pesky little sisfur. She followed me everywhere and got scared easily.
As time passed, she got bigger and less scared; I began to miss her when she didn't follow me. She still annoyed me sometimes, but a strong bap with my front paw always put her in her place. Years passed, with the three of us living together happily. Socks and I would play and nap in the sun all day before cuddling up on the sofa each evening to tell our lady about our adventures. Life was lovely. I was the Queen of my little corner of the world…
I was just beginning to plan my 15th birthday party – it was to be a grand affair when I began to notice that my lady was becoming forgetful. She had to be reminded several times to feed us (it was a good job; I had a loud meow), and the water bowl wasn't refreshed as often as I liked. My daily grooming sessions were less frequent, and my fur was starting to get a bit matted in those hard-to-reach places. I tried to remind her, but sometimes she looked at me oddly, as if she didn't recognise me. I didn't tell Socks I was worried – she would panic. I was at home one day when the lady had a visitor. The visitor seemed nice, she petted me, and so I lay beside her while she talked to my lady. The visitor began talking of the need for "more care" and a "move"… my ears pricked up! What was this? Where were we moving to? Over the next few weeks, my lady had more visitors who started packing things in boxes. I tried to tell Socks not to worry, but she was upset. Then one cold day in December 2012, my lady started to cry as our carriers appeared.
We Had to Move
She told us we had to find another home as she couldn't take us to the nursing home. She promised that the nice people who would take us would find us a loving human to look after us. Socks and I started to cry too. How would our lady cope without us? What would happen to us? What about my 15th birthday – how could I celebrate without my lady? I meowed this very loudly, but it didn't stop us from being bundled into our carriers and taken to a place called a shelter. The shelter's people were kind and put us in a cage together, but it wasn't home. It was just a small pen with a bit of outside space. Nowhere to do zoomies and hardly any room to play, not that we were in the mood to play. Socks cried a lot, and I tried to comfort her, but it was hard. Socks was 13 now and couldn't remember life without me, but I wasn't sure we would be able to stay together….
Weeks passed, and Christmas came and went, as did our birthdays. There was no celebration. We both became very depressed. Whenever someone came to look for a cat, they noticed our age and walked right by. We had begun to give up hope. Then in March 2013, three months after being brought to the shelter, a lady stopped at our cage. Socks immediately started to rub up against the door.. the lady cuddled her head and spoke gently to both of us. I didn't get up – we had been fussed before, but nobody wanted older ladies like us. She gave us some treats, and she left.
Adopted? Yippee!!
However, a few days later, we were taken out of our pen and into another room… the lady was waiting for us! She was adopting us…. I couldn't believe it. We were put into nice new carriers and carried out of the shelter. I meowed loudly to introduce myself and my sisfur. She said not to worry and that she had everything we would need at her house. We would be loved and never let go again. Did she really mean this? We arrived at our new home, and sure enough, there were beds, toys, and food in new bowls waiting for us. Socks was a bit nervous, but she soon settled after I had checked everything out. The lady was gentle and quiet, but when we asked, she made a big fuss of us. She had a nice brush and helped me groom my long fur. She scratched Socks under her chin just as she liked and loved it when we purred. We purred a lot. Socks still annoyed me sometimes, and I had to bap her with my paw, but we were happy.
Years passed, and we celebrated every Christmas and every birthday with our new human, Andy. We always had a full bowl of food when we needed it, fresh water and lots of fuss every day. In return, I woke her at 5:30 am every morning so she could make the most of her day with us. I know she appreciated this a lot.
So Lucky to Have Been Loved
When I was 21, my pesky little sisfur became suddenly ill. Andy took her to our doctor, but she had to go over the Rainbow Bridge. Andy cried a lot. I was very sad. I knew I had to look after Andy now. I still woke her at 5:30 every morning, and we had even more cuddles and fuss than before. I knew I was very loved. I celebrated my 22nd birthday with a new bed and treats, but I told Andy I was beginning to feel very tired, so we had to make the most of every day.
Then almost a year after Socks had passed over the Rainbow Bridge, I knew it was my time to go to her. My pesky little sisfur needed me. I left behind a legacy of love and beautiful memories. I am still Queen of my little corner of the world – that world is just over the Rainbow Bridge now. Anyone who disagrees gets a strong bap with my front paw.
Socks and I were so lucky to have been loved and cared for by someone as kind and devoted as Andy. Although we are no longer physically with her, the spirit and love we shared will always be cherished and will never be forgotten.
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@Andy18512371
Ooh what is that in my eyes 💧Such a beautiful story depicting the love you gave and were shown by the wonderful people and Sox in your life and what a marvellous long life that was 💕❤️
Such a lovely story. You were both so lucky to have had 2 loving homes, and gave so much love back 😻 lots of love Tommy the girl cat 🐾😻🐈