Page 93 - She's One Crazy Lady!

The positive benefits of having a cat are well known. There were never really any negatives, even though he would poke and tap me to get up, hang on to my legs until I fed him, sit on my papers when I was trying to work, sleep in my briefcase, sleep on freshly-ironed clothes, bring a gift of a mouse or a bird and meow endlessly if I sang along to music. Anything was accepted with Tigger. He was my bundle of love completely; he cheered me up, he made me forget the pressures of a busy day and he was such good fun, getting up to all kinds of mischief.
The pressures of the Appeal etc. had even been made a little easier, knowing I would be going home to Tigger. Tigger would always sense my moods and would cuddle up closer – we loved our cuddles, although with him being a large cat, there was never quite enough room on the settee or on my bed, where I was often pinned right down, for he was heavy too!
When I left Victoria, and moved on, Tigger was
getting older and had one or two health issues. You
can never be prepared for the inevitable. We were
in the middle of a very important large inspection at
my new school, at a crucial time. On the Saturday,
Tigger collapsed. Thankfully, my friends, Dave and
Dusty were around to pick Tigger and I up and rush to the vets, where I was told Tigger, more than likely, had had a heart attack. I was to take him home and massage his heart frequently and ‘love
him’. I sat up all night with Tigger and on the Sunday he picked up and was quite perky. I felt comfortable in leaving him for work on Monday. I had to go in, the Inspectors were calling.
However, on the Tuesday, Tigger collapsed again. It was 6.30a.m. He let out a heart-wrenching howl. I was ironing, getting ready for another frantic day. What to do? Stay calm. I rang the vet’s emergency number and was told to get him there ASAP. Dave understood, they were cat lovers, and he quickly came to get us. The vet said to leave Tigger with them – they would get in touch. I knew what the outcome would be and, although I felt physically sick, I knew I had to keep a pledge I made the first day I took him home – a promise that if he was struggling and in pain, I would not let him linger and suffer more.
I also had the dilemma of going in to school, or not. I chose not. I could not go in leaving him as he was. Tigger was my family; he had to come first. At the time I didn’t care what the authorities thought (but was so
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