I had Lineker and his brother Shilton (1990 world cup!) but sadly Shilton was only 18 months old when he was knocked down by a car and killed. Sadly the person that did knock him down did not know a lot about cats and that most of the time they dont have injuries as such, just shock, and I think that if they had comforted him and talked soothingly he might have survived, but instead they just watched him, and watched him die. That was a very very sad day and Lineker pined so much that we got Penny 3 months later. Initially Lineker was not that impressed with her, but now, 14 years later, they are inseparable.
I have had another cat since then too, Louis 7 years ago. He adopted me, but again i knew he was not going to live long as he was so dopey. I used to look out the window and would see him stretched out in the sun in the middle of the road. He was so nosey too, on one occassion my next door neighbour loaded up his car with rubbish and got halfway to the dump only to look in his rear view mirror to see Louis sitting there enjoying the ride. He cursed Louis no doubt, turned round and drove him home. He was killed outside our house 4 weeks before we moved house - a hit and run. He was just left in the road. Where we live now we back on to fields and a park and he would have loved it.
Saying that, for all the heart ache and suffering when i lost Shilton and Louis, i would not have changed it for the world. In the short time i had them they gave me so much pleasure and happiness.
Lineker is getting old now, he is nearly 18 and in the last year he has slowed down so much. He no longer can climb a fence (which actually I am overjoyed about, as he cannot leave the safety of the garden any more) but he is such a loving little fella. When he is not duffing up his father he is curled up sound asleep, or laying in a bit of sun in the garden.
Penny, she turned 14 in December suffers from Eczema and has steriod injections on a monthly basis which keeps her skin lovely, but sadly the vet is now testing her for diabetes. They have done some blood tests and we are waiting for the results. I have everything crossed that her increased glucose was down to stress and her vet visit, as she does not seem to have any other symptons at all.
Sorry, i think i have waffled on a bit.