Chloe came to us from the RSPCA on 5th December 1987. They estimated that she was 11 months old, and said that she had been found living on the streets.
She was the prettiest little cat I had ever seen, with the perfect markings. She was a long-haired black and white kitty with a white bib, 2 white tummy splodges, 4 little white paws and white ‘go-faster’ stripes on each of her back legs.
She was a very friendly little cat, and as soon as you knelt down to say hello to her, she would climb all over you. However, possibly as a result of being on the streets, she would only stand things on her own terms. She didn’t like being picked up and would run away from you if you tried to do so, but she would be perfectly happy to sit on your lap for hours if she had jumped up on her own volition.
Chloe was a very smart little cat, and in no time at all she had learnt how to negotiate the cat-flap, to get out into the back garden, and over the back fence into Epping Forest - we used to live in Buckhurst Hill at the time. I often used to catch her standing on the garden fence, on her way to the forest, flirting with the 3 young policemen who used to share the house next door.
However many cats we had, she always seemed to be at the bottom of the pussy pecking order. Despite that, she was a happy little cat, and a great survivor. She always managed to find the coziest paces in the house before anyone else found them.
At the age of 13, even though she was eating very well, Chloe was losing weight, and wasn’t looking in very good condition, so we took her to the vet. He told us that she had a hyperthyroid condition, and when a blood test confirmed this, we opted to try to treat this with tablets. After a few weeks, Chloe was looking even worse than before, because the tablets were making her sick, on top of everything else. The vet had suggested that surgery to remove the affected thyroid gland was an alternative option, but that he thought it would be a good idea to carry out further blood tests to check that Chloe would be OK to go under anaesthetic. When these blood tests came back, it was found that Chloe was also suffering from kidney failure, and that she was nowhere near well enough for the surgery. We had to carry on giving Chloe the tablets that she so hated for the hyperthyroid condition, and additionally to give her Fortekor tablets for the kidney condition. After about 6 weeks, and another set of blood tests, the vet deemed that Chloe was fit enough for the operation, and this went ahead. Chloe came back home to us the day after the surgery, looking very frail, but after a couple of months when she had regained some weight, and her fur had grown back, she made a remarkable recovery.
One year later, the vet detected that Chloe’s other thyroid gland was also affected, and she had to go through another operation for the removal of that, and yet again, she made another good recovery.
Chloe was a very determined young lady, and refused to eat any food specially prescribed for kidney failure, and right until the end displayed her fighting spirit, especially when being given tablets.
At the age of 16, she started to suffer from arthritis, which very gradually got worse over her last few years, affecting her spine and back legs.
We finally lost little Chloe on 28th December 2005, when the vet had to put her to sleep, after she had a fit, from which she didn’t recover.
She was my first little girl, and I carry her around in my heart always.
Here are some photos of Chloe:
