Mia was a London girl, born circa 1990 and probably a Capricorn. She was guardian and protector of an old lady who lived in a block of flats in London who (allegedly) used to go for her with a tennis racket. Mia enjoyed sunbathing on the balcony. On the death of the old lady, Mia, aged 6 or 7, was taken to Battersea Cat's Home where she was visited by 3 young batchelors looking for a lady in their lives. Mia was the only cat their that lashed out at us as she appeared to be anthropophobic. She was also very pretty so we were true to our gender and we ignored her temperament and took her on her physical beauty. We also thought that noone would take her because of her angst and we believed we were up for the challenge. Mia was intensely agoraphobic and took a long time to adjust to being in the outdoors. We would have to take her to the bottom of the garden where she would immediatley dart back to the house leaping over any obstruction in her way. The Greenhouse was instrumental in adjusting her to the great outdoors but it took several months before she was able to enjoy the garden and she would never venture onto the street of that or any of her future homes. A young 8 week tabby named Vinny was introduced to Mia in those early years and Mia quickly developed a hate/hate relationship with him. In fact, Mia could not tolerate the presence of any other living thing at this time but her trust of humans soon began to improve. She once caught a mouse which she played with gleefully but we suspect the mouse was already incapciated in some way. The London years saw her change residence two more times and co-habitation with an aspiring artist named Stu and a mother and daughter from the distant shores of the Phillipines. She made the move north to Huddersfield in 2000 where she began to enjoy the outdoor life and would spend much of her summer in the garden, jolting each time a bus went past. Her move to Snaith in 2002 began her golden years as she relaxed into the nooks and crannies of Punton's Shop and enjoyed the warmth of summer days lying on the concrete yard. Mia's health was always poor, having arthritis from an early age which saw her paws deform gradually from pointing "5 to 1" at 6 years to "quarter past 3" by the time she was 18. She had 80% of her teeth removed in 2006 which was a miracle she survived the anaesthetic but developed renal failure soon after which saw her lose weight and in recent months her sight and hearing have diminished rapidly. She was affectionate to the last as she couldn't muster the strength to drink or sit but was still managing to rest her paw on those who stroked her and lift her head to be stroked under her chin. God bless you, Mia!
6 сен 2024
