the COTTAGE CATTERY
My Lucky Black Cat
You know when you look back at that one wee moment in life and wonder how different things would be if it never happened?
For me that happened on a sunny Saturday lunchtime in July 2017 when a skinny, starving wee black cat appeared in my Dad’s back garden. My Dad had sadly passed away a couple of weeks before and my sisters and I were there starting to clear the house when she decided she liked the smell of our lunch. After a trip to the vet and me failing to find her human she soon became my new best friend, following me around and keeping me company as I slowly cleared Rose Cottage. She got fat ….. good feeding and as it turned out a bad boy cat or two!! In early October while I mopped her whiskers she produced five beautiful wee balls of fluff to continue to occupy my time and my head. In my defence the vet had told me she thought she had been neutered.
Mummy Cat now known as Erica … my dad was Eric. I can see him shaking his head at that one :) … and one of her kittens, Florrie joined my furry family. Erica definitely made a very difficult time in my life a little bit easier.
Over the next few months, we renovated Rose Cottage ready for me to move in. As I found out later my builder (my brother-in-law), my neighbour and my sister all decided what a good idea it would be for me to open a cattery at Rose Cottage - plenty of space - she loves cats - daft not to! What had started off as a silly comment said in jest soon became a reality as planning permission was passed.
I decided to give Cats Protection a phone to see if I could be of any help once the cattery was up and running. A collection box, maybe taking the odd cat in an emergency when I had empty pens. I appeared on Anne's doorstep with an armful of crochet blankets and some Dreamies offering my services.
So now it’s the spring of 2020 and that enquiry last year about a collection box has rather quickly developed into me helping in the shop, some fun times out to Trap, Neuter and Return and a Foster Pen in my back garden!! And of course, some really lovely new friendships.
I really do believe that there are always positives that come from negatives. It’s sad that I’m living at Rose Cottage because Mam and Dad are no longer here but my silver lining is that I’m back home living in a house that’s been our family home for over 100 years and I will hopefully soon have The Cottage Cattery and the Cat Protection Pens full of cats to cuddle, all thanks to my lucky black cat called Erica.
Jan x