| Cat Chat
By Chris Stalker V.N.
Simba
It is with great sadness that I write this column as I have just lost my beautiful nine-year-old Burmese, Simba (Grand Premier Roobidoo Rocky Mountain), to Lymphoma. Before I explain further, I’d like to tell you a little about Simba…
I bought Simba and his sister, Rosie, just after we moved to Cheshire in 1997. It was these two cats, bought purely as pets, that got me back into showing again after a 20-year gap and ultimately led me to start breeding Burmese again.
Simba was one of those ‘in your face’ cats that love company and think that your entire existence is for their benefit! When he and his sister were a year old, a friend persuaded me to show them at the North West Cat Club show in 1998. There, Simba was awarded his first CC – and of course, I was once again ‘hooked’. Simba went onto become a Grand Premier, despite being a little too long in the nose and possessing what I call ‘old-fashioned Burmese looks’. Very often his judges’ critiques mentioned that he was ‘a bit grumpy’ or ‘had a lot to say for himself’, yet they forgave his poor manners by awarding certificates.
Simba was a rather ‘haughty’ cat, with a tendency to hold his head up high and could be a ‘bit grumpy’ vocally – this was just part of his personality, designed to show us that he was ‘beneath’ tolerating too much petting and attention from us humans – unless he was the instigator of the affection.
At home, he was an affable cat with his fellow cats, albeit a bit more than bossy at times! Every cat bed in the house was claimed as his, even if it was being occupied at the time. Our late rescue Brown Burmese, Kylie, introduced Simba to urine marking – a habit he kept up all his life and he also refined his own system of ‘peeing’ in the kitchen or bathroom sinks - as well as up the walls or on plastic bags etc.
When I broke my leg, four years ago, Simba remained my constant ‘bed fellow’ when I was confined upstairs for six weeks. Since that time, he slept on my bed, either on the pillow or preferably between my legs – making movement and restful slumber for me a sheer impossibility!
Over the years, Simba had quite a few adventures…
Setting his whiskers alight with a candle on the mantelpiece, one New Year’s Eve, is a particularly memorable event – he missed a forthcoming show while the whiskers grew back!
Simba loved his garden and had the neighbours out in their pyjamas in the wee hours on two separate occasions, helping us to get him safely down from our Willow tree by means of their extension ladders. Being stranded on another neighbour’s roof was another occasion that we had to use rescue tactics– this time it was being caught in their large fishing net that got him off the tiles and back on terra firma.
I only discovered fairly recently that Simba was a regular guest in another neighbour’s house. Whilst visiting this couple, he enjoyed not only the comfort of their bedroom, curling up by the radiator, but also would sit on their laps – something he rarely did at home. They were highly honoured!
Simba was more than generous when it came to bringing home ‘little presents’…over the years his offerings included an earthworm, a baby frog, birds and mice – all alive and usually unharmed. He was never impressed by my accepting these gifts and minutes later granting the creatures their liberty.
To all intents and purposes, Simba was robustly healthy until just a month ago, when I noticed he was losing weight and I felt he was a bit ‘grumpier’ than usual. My vet’s tests were inconclusive and he was referred to Liverpool Small Animal hospital. There, the vets diagnosed ‘multi nodal’ lymphoma. He had lesions in his chest and kidneys. As he was in good condition and deemed to be a co-operative patient, a course of chemotherapy was started.
Sadly, four days later, Simba developed complications; he stopped eating and was running a temperature. Three days later, we were advised to go to see him in the hospital and there we made the heartbreaking decision to ‘let him go’. The alternative was to subject him to more invasive procedures (placing a feeding tube into his pharynx/oesophagus), with no guarantee of success and ultimately, the lymphoma would return. He was so ‘down’, uncomfortable and unhappy that I felt I could not rob him further of his dignity.
We brought Simba home and a few days later (the day prior to the Supreme show); we took him to be buried beside Kylie at Sleepy Meadow pet cemetery, near Sandbach, Cheshire.
I am still grieving for my lovely boy as I write this column. He was a wonderful cat who gave me so much joy. My own Vintarn girls share a common ancestor with Simba, in their pedigrees, so in a way I still have part of him with me; my thanks to Jan Bowen for pointing this out to me – it helps enormously.
Liverpool Small Animal Hospital Appeal
Apart from wanting to write the above eulogy about Simba, to share my loss with you – I know you will feel much empathy – I wanted to thank the vets and nurses of Liverpool University’s Small Animal Hospital. They were absolutely marvellous – their care and devotion was second to none and they kept in constant touch with me, every step of the way. This often meant telephoning me three of four times each day, evenings and weekend included.
The hospital in Crown Street, Liverpool, now needs updating and they are raising funds to build new modern facilities. “Our Small Animal Hospital is too small and too old. We need more space to provide the vital medical treatment your pets need and help provide the world-class education that the UK vets of the future require. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed, we have to turn new patients away because we have no more beds available.
“As well as treating thousands of sick animals each year, we also produce over 100 newly-qualified vets every year. In this way, we make a huge contribution to animal welfare because our graduates are the vets of the future, working for veterinary practices, charities, government, industry, in the UK and beyond.
“That is why we are building a new world-class hospital at Leahurst, Wirral, but we cannot do it alone. The University, which is a registered charity, is investing heavily in the project, but this is not enough to allow us to provide the best facilities for your pets. The Small Animal Hospital is a not-for-profit organisation and surplus money from our income is re-invested in patient care. That is why we need you to help us make our vision a reality. We are appealing for help to raise the money to build and equip this new facility so that more animals from across the North, the Midlands and Wales can benefit from the most advanced treatment available.”
If you would like to help (maybe in memory of a much loved cat like Simba), please see http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk or send a donation to:
The Small Animal Teaching Hospital Campaign,
Development Office, Department of Corporate Communications
University of Liverpool, FREEPOST LV7925 Liverpool L69 2YZ.
Just Looking!
On a brighter note…
Thanks to Mary Cregan for sending me these super photos of Blue the cat and his friend, Joe the budgie. They live in perfect harmony, according to Shirley Kiley of the USA, who took the photos!
A new kind of Burmese?
The article pictured right, featured in both the Daily Mail and The Times newspapers at the end of October. My thanks to two OUR CATS readers for sending me the newspaper cuttings. The story covers a cat called ‘Flook’, who is reported to be a ‘short-haired Burmese cat’! Flook was celebrating her 16th birthday (equivalent to 100 years of human life) and was sent a birthday card from the Queen after her owner wrote to Buckingham Palace. Flook certainly looks like a beautiful cat, but Burmese are not normally seen sporting white lockets on their chests!
Wishing you and your cats a happy, healthy Christmas and success in 2007.
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