How do you
even begin to explain how much a small
cat meant to you, how it was part of the family, and how much your heart bled
when it passed away ?
Princess
came into our lives in 2008, I am not sure when she was born but if I remember
correctly it was around 2004/2005.
In 2003 we
moved into a little old house in Holmestrand, the house was from 1824 and we
had mice ! So I got our first cat, Pervy. He grew into a handsome, sulky fellow
but was never very good at catching mice. So we got another cat, Kiki-boy. Kiki was a little ball of orange fur and cute
beyond measure, his personality clicked more with the kids and he was a great
hunter, and abit of a show-off bringing half alive birds and even squirrels into to the house.
But, then
as it happens when you have children they wanted more pets. One day when Roland was home from kindergarden due to a bad cold , to cheer him up we took a little walk to the
pet shop in front of our house and came back with a hamster. Then we got birds,
one particularly expensive orange canary lasted exactly one day, Pervy jumped
on the cage, it fell to the floor, burst open and the canary became cat snack.
Then Alain
started asking for a white poodle after a family member gave him a stuffed dog toy, but when I realized how much they cost I realized
that was not going to happen. But one day when I was on the
website with the small adds (finn.no) looking at the freebies, I saw one person was
giving away a white cat, so I sent them an sms asking for more info. Later on
that day I got an sms back with the person saying they would be at my house in 20
mns, or something like that. My husband noticed my face turned a little white
as I read the message and he asked me what was that all about, I mumbled ‘It
seems like we are getting another cat !’. Need I mention we lived then in an 80 sqm
house, with four children….. it was tight as could be !
A little later a car drove
up in front of our house, and a man dropped a white cat into my arms, said
something about her age and a name I forgot at once, and that was that ! I
walked into the house with a cat so pretty and white with the most beautiful
green eyes, she looked so much like a princess we decided to call her that.
Princess
was very easy from the start, found her way around, did not run away and made
no mess in the house. But her arrival woke up something inside my boy cats, and
one day there was a little hissing situation between Pervy and Kiki which ended with Pervy biting me quite hard. The same
day both boys were taken to the nearest vet and neutered ! I don’t know why I
hadn’t done it earlier, I guess I had then a very relax relationship to animals due to
having travelled a lot in my youth and never really had a pet of my own for
very long. Beside, we didn’t have a car in those days, so I relied on buses,
the neighbor and even the pet shop for help driving my pets to the vet.
A short
while later Princess had a litter of cute-as-could-be kittens, then before I
had time to breath there came another litter and that put an end to her baby
making days and she also took a trip to the vet for sterilization.
Sometime
later we did get a dog, a four years old Husky who came into our lives the same
way as Princess did via the small adds on finn.no. I was looking at dogs, but
not certain it was the right time when the title of an add caught my eyes ‘ Who
will want me ?’ with the picture of a thin, thin Husky. Naturally I called the person who had the add
out, and on my birthday they brought me a dog, a bag of food (Which she refused
to eat) and a contract. I paid the small fee and walked home with a dog !
The boy
cats couldn’t care less, same with the hamster, and birds. But Princess took it
very personally, she creeped up behind Føyke and pounced on her with full drawn
out claws and the poor dog jumped back in fright.
So that was
the way the two girls got introduced, and from that moment on Princess tolerated
the smelly, annoying dog and Føyke kept a respectful distance between them.
Princess
was always very curious, once I couldn’t find her for a couple days and started
to worry until I heard a faint meow coming from the roof. She must have
followed me into the attic and got stuck there, thankfully I found her before
she got too dehydrated or starved.
She pulled
the same trick with the neighbor, got into his attic too and thankfully he had
an outdoor door and latch and I managed to get her out. I kept a good eye on her,
but she was always putting her little nose where it didn’t belong. Once she followed us across town to the park,
another time she followed me almost all the way to work.
In 2011 we
moved to a new house a little farther away from our old place, Princess got
used to it right away but not Pervy, he kept on going back to the old place and
waited at the door until the neighbor would call and I would go downtown to
pick him up.
By then
Kiki boy had passed away after a short illness, and he was replaced by Garfield
who lived only about two years and died in my arms suddenly while I was picking
him up to put him in a safe room while waiting for the vet office to open.
After
Garfield, we got Moumousse and in-between we lost the birds, and the hamster of
course did not live very long. Then Mr Kitty came into our lives, another
ginger puss who had lived too long in an Oslo apartment and needed the freedom
to go outside at will. With four cats, and one dog in the house our lives were
complete for a while, but nature is nature and we eventually lost both Pervy
and Føyke to cancer.
Now, the
children were getting older, they were teenagers and could not remember life
without Princess, she was the one pet who had outlived all other and even
though she was aloof and distant when younger, she became affectionate and
cuddly as she got older.
She had a
little quirk regarding water, she was always drinking and asking for fresh
water for her little cup in the bathroom. But despite her fresh water obsession,
she had no problem drinking from any and all water containers available – The pool,
puddles, buckets, flower vases, dirty dishes, the toilet, anything really that
contained liquids.
By 2018 I noticed
she stayed longer indoors, and chose to sleep in warm, and soft places. She
lost weight and there was a little ball growing on her neck, we realized she
was getting older and doubled our attention of her. She was let out at will,
but each evening we all made sure she was indoors and we even kept a little box
with blankets on the porch so she could wait for us to open the door without
being too exposed to the elements.
But, last
weekend she just collapsed. We had fed her a box of soft cat food, a
favorite treat, then let her out…. I found her a little later with her head
laying low, and looking like she had difficulties breathing. We put her in the
bathroom with a litter box, extra towels on the floor and turned up the floor
heating. By Sunday morning she did not
look any better, her breathing was fast and labored so we called the vet and
drove her to Tønsberg.
The vet
took one look at her, and with her advanced age, thin frame and obvious cancer
she recommended what I already knew had to be – Princess was put humanely to
sleep that afternoon with my petting and reassuring her throughout the process, telling her that she was
a good kitty, and was loved.
I’m crying
as I write this, Princess was nothing more than a couple kilos of white fur,
two green eyes and a bit of a haughty, sassy little thing, but she was part of
our family for 11 years and we will never forget her.
 |
| 2008 - I wasn't able to afford the poodle he wanted, but Alain and Princess bonded right away. |
 |
| 2008 - A boy and his cat ! |
 |
| 2008 - The time Princess followed us all the way to the park - Dulpen in Holmestrand. Roland was worried she would get lost, but she made it home before us. |
 |
| 2009 - The poor mama cat looks tired, kittens are quite demanding at times. |
 |
| 2009 - Young, and happy. Shortly before getting sterilised. |
 |
| 2009 - Looking at the town. I wonder what she was thinking ? |
 |
| 2010 - Those two always kind of liked each other. Pervy ( Born 2003 ) and Princess. |
 |
| 2010 - The famous photo of Princess posing amid the flowers. |
 |
| 2010 - The first time I caught the two of them getting along. |
 |
| 2011 - My beautiful little sister, trying to pose with my equaly beautiful cat. |
 |
| 2011 - The trio relaxing on a summer day. Pervy, Garfield ( Hiding ), and Princess. |
 |
| 2012 - Føyke just couldn't figure out that cat - She's always drinking ! |
 |
| 2012 - Graceful and beautiful ! The words that describe best our little Princess. |
 |
| 2014 - Such a beauty ! |
 |
| 2015 - Looking at birds, or looking at her own reflection ? |
 |
| 2016 - Caught drinking from the shower again, at least it was better than taking sips from the toilet. |
 |
| 2016 - Mr Kitty and princess tolerating each other. |
 |
| 2016 - Her favourite spot in the living room - on top of the piano. |
 |
| 2016 - Princess and I trying out the selfie thing, we were never really good at it. |
 |
| 2017 - Always thirsty, and putting her head into things that contain water. |
 |
| 2017 - The Princess at rest |
 |
| 2017 - Sweet Princess and all the white hairs she left all over the furnitures |
 |
| 2018 - Getting visibly older |
 |
| 2018 - But still playful. |
 |
| 2018 - This photo is a classic, Princess helping herself to the big bucket while Mr Kitty looks on jealously from a respectful distance. |
 |
| 2018 - The last year Rosaline and Princess were inseparable |
 |
| 2018 - Spring 2018, Princess posing in the fallen apple blossoms - |
 |
| 2019 - Until the end she kept her dignity and beauty |
 |
| 2019 - The last photo, Princess hiding under the bathroom sink, fighting to keep her dignity as she slowly faded away.... We will always love you sweet girl ! |
