by John brown
(Fife, Scotland)
My wife and I had one and what happened has made us more upset and sad than losing a pet through illness or old age.
We live in Freuchie, Fife, Scotland which is a small village near St Andrews the home of golf and the winters here can be quite severe. For years we looked after a red Norwegian Forest Cat which came to our house one winters night covered in snow. His owner used to let him out and come back late but if the cat was not there he would be out all night no matter what the weather.
We finished up letting him stay with us. He was massive and fluffy and weighed 8/10 kilo but was not fat. His name was Smirnoff. He was 7 yrs old and he was lovely.
He stayed in our house all the time had his own room complete with a double bed and was friends with our wee Yorkshire terrier who was three times smaller than him.
His owner who lived up the street was quite happy about us looking after him even though the cat never went home. However on hindsight what we did was a very big and traumatic mistake.
Unfortunately his owner had to move and came for him and took him away leaving my disabled wife in tears. I wanted to buy the cat and was not shy to the amount of money offered for him but the owner said he had him from a kitten. The poor cat was screaming and howling when he went away.
Although I never liked cats Smirnoff was different and nice. He just played outside in our large garden and never ventured or hurt anything. He was very bidable and walked with me like a pet dog when I was doing the garden. He had a room of his own with toys and I took to him so much I am now in distress. He loved our wee Yorkie and sat with my wife.
I suppose what I am getting at is where in the world could we find an older cat like that in need of a good home. I am not a breeder but this Norwegian Forest Cat was just lovely and a big softy in love with my wife and even me, our beautiful garden, our wee dog and our house. We still look out at the garden for him but he is not there.
Even though he only moved 5 miles away we hope he does not venture back as the roads are busy which adds to our worry. My wife says she would never do that again.
John & Myra Brown
