I never did a proper tribute to Elsa after she died so thought the anniversary of her death was the right time to do it.
I got Elsa from a lady who lived nearby – her cat had just had kittens (again!) well it was 20 years ago and that’s just the way it was then. A few years before I’d adopted Heidi, a little brown tabby, from this same lady, but sadly Heidi got run over and killed and I was devastated. I’d moved in between times, and found myself wondering if the lady I’d got Heidi from had had any more litters from her cat, I really wanted another tabby and because Heidi had such a beautiful temperament I thought it would be lovely to have another kitten from her mum – just on the off chance I phoned her and would you believe her cat had recently produced again, and yes, there was a tabby in the litter. So I went to choose my ‘tabby’ – and chose a very unusual tabby indeed! In fact of course Elsa was a dilute tortie, but I didn’t have much idea about colours then and clearly neither did the lady, so my little unusual ‘tabby’ came home with me.
Needless to say, Elsa was nothing like Heidi in either colour or character! She was feisty and independent, saw many others come and go in her time, moved house with me more times than I can remember, and she reached her 20th birthday in May 2007. When Harry and George joined the family as 8-week-old kittens, Elsa took an instant dislike to Harry and took every opportunity to batter him so much that sometimes she would send him flying across the room – at the time he would just pick himself up, shake himself off and carry on doing daft kitten things with George. This was to come back and haunt her in later years, when the tables were turned and Harry (I’m sure remembering what she used to do to him) made her life hell for a time – revenge was sweet! Luckily things mellowed out after Harry felt he’d made his point, but I’m sure Elsa was partially responsible for the fact that Harry turned into such a bolshie little git!
Elsa’s favourite place was the kitchen! She was terrible for trying to grab food I was preparing, or eating – it didn’t matter what I had on my plate she would wait round the side of my chair and in a split second this little paw would whip round and grab – anything she could. Whenever I walked into the kitchen, I knew she would be there sat on the worktop, or peeping round the side of the fridge, hoping it would open soon!
Elsa never had a day’s illness until she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism at about 18 yrs old, medication helped somewhat, but in October 2007 her appetite was poor, improved a little for a couple of weeks with steroids and vit b jabs, but it was only buying time. So on Monday October 15th 2007 the vet came to the house and Elsa went to sleep very quickly and peacefully. She didn’t send me a rainbow – instead she sent me the most beautiful sunset I ever saw – I knew it was her creating fire in the sky! I miss her presence so much.
I have some pics of her as a kitten, but they are prints and I haven’t got a scanner at the mo, so here’s a few of her as an adult.
In her 20th year - in the kithcen!
Raiding the kitchen cupboard for treats
Favourite spot on kitchen windowsill in the sun
Elsa's Sunset
