Our chatty handsome Oscar :-(

As some of you already know, our beloved Oscar passed away suddenly on Friday.

 

Our noisiest boy has had some issues with his lungs since his darling brother Henry gave him an early present as a kitten – cat flu!

He got through that scare – the vet said he wouldn’t survive – through the power of sardines and late nights for Mum and Dad.

From that moment onwards, the cat who supposedly had problems with his lungs made the most of every bit of them.

Half cat, half bagpipes. Our little boy was the chattiest cat in town.

In his early years he liked to wake us up by “singing” at the window… generally at around 5am.

When we moved house, the addition of a cat (dog!) flap earned us some respite at he would instead wonder in to cuddle up next to his brothers.

He was an excellent mouser. And ‘bird-er’. No creature was safe in the garden when Oscar puss was about.

He was our little soldier, who guarded the house and let no-one else approach without warning: greeting all with a large and loud meow or a fearsome pounce (sometimes both!), depending on whether they were friend or foe.

Oscar loved to patrol. It’s a busy world out there with fences to climb, mice to play with and territory to defend.

He did it all until the very end.

When we first rescued Oscar his given name was Engine Joe.

It didn’t suit him, but came about as he was found sleeping on an engine as a kitten.

We adopted him after he attracted our attention by constantly batting the tail of the cat in a neighbouring cage at the cattery; a somewhat battered looking, half-eared white (with a bit of black) cat who was soon to be named Archie.

Oscar was 12 weeks old approximately . His cage mate, Henry, was even younger – so small he barely filled our hands.

The three of them soon became best friends. Two terrible tiggers and an older, more sensible lion to look over them.

His brothers are so sad now. They miss their chatty play-mate.

Oscar’s talking was legendary. Clearly part Siamese, there were moments we thought he’d never shut up.

He drove Dad crazy. He had conversations with Mum that made War and Peace look short. And when chicken became involved that was a whole new world of MEOW!

Oscar loved his kisses. He loved to be the centre of attention.

He was our friend. Our protector. Our baby.

RIP Oscar.