Monty came to us from the RSPCA on 5th December 1987. He had been there twice, the first time when his original owners had left him there when they had moved abroad, and he was returned there for a second time when a child of his new owners developed an allergy to cats. The RSPCA estimated that he was 3-4 years old, and he was on medication because he had no fur on his back legs.
He was quite timid with people, and not very keen on other boy cats, but loved girl cats. His skill and accuracy at catching and dispensing with mice was second to none.
Monty was the most gentle cat I have ever known, and in the 9 years and 8 months and 8 days that he was with us, he never clawed me, and only gave me a gentle nip once, in spite of all the pills that he had to put up with.
He became very attached to both Jim and me, but whenever I came home from work, he would abandon Jim, come straight to see me. He would accompany me upstairs so that he could sit on our bed and chat to me while I got changed out of my work clothes. We would have long, long conversations where he would say prrrrraaaoooww to me, and I would prrrrraaaoooww right back to him. I have no idea what we were talking about, but it seemed to work.
At the end of June in 1997, we noticed that Monty was having problems with his breathing, and we took him to the vet immediately. The vet told us that he had fluid on the lungs and a heart murmur. He carried out an ECG and various tests, but we were told that there was no cure, only treatment for symptoms to make him as comfortable as possible for what time he had left. In the next 6 weeks we returned to the vet several times to adjust Monty’s medication. However at 11pm on 13th August 1997, when he was lying on our bed, Monty had what our vet said was probably a heart attack, and died.
I still miss him so much. He was a very special boy and will always be a part of me.
Pictures of Monty in his younger days
Monty a month before we lost him
