A Writer's Cat

My name is Tiggomy and I’m not going to talk about my first four years – even my mum doesn’t know about them. My life really started when I saw her come into the cat section at Ipswich RSPCA. I was dozing on top of the tallest cage – the other cats were great but I liked to get away on my own sometimes. I spotted her coming in and didn’t think about it much. Nobody had ever paid much attention to me and I was comfortable up there. But she came over to the cage and reached her hand up. I don’t like random touching so I put my paw on her hand to push it away. No claws, just a gentle hint. Which she didn’t take. Next thing the cat-carer was loading me into a cat cage and into the back of a car. I heard the carer say to be patient with me as I’d probably hide away for a few days and would need to be kept calm.

After a noisy upsetting drive (I hate cars) we came to my new mum’s house. She carried the cage inside and opened the door. Guess what! There was my special food (I used to be a chonk so have to watch what I eat), water and a litter tray all set out just for me. I tried them all out then went straight to my chair. It was clearly my chair; the sun was shining onto it and a furry rug was folded up on the seat.

There wasn’t any need to hide away. This was my house and I felt right at home. Mum left me alone and settled down with a book. I had a snooze then jumped down to remind her I was there. She put down the book and patted my head, just the way I like it.

We get on pretty well now that we’ve learned to repect each other’s space. I haven’t drawn blood for ages and she doesn’t try to pick me up. We’ve moved house three times and I hope we stay at the new place. The verandah is screened in so I can’t go right outside but can watch the birds and neighbours. It’s a good thing I turned up as Mum needs me to keep her company. I have to be careful not to let her work too long so every afternoon I visit her in the office and yowl until she gets up from the computer. We have a game with treats and settle down for a chat. Most nights we sit on the couch together and watch television or read or listen to music. So far, so good.