Born in 1980
I am the youngest of four – 3 lads and a girl. Growing up we never had any pets – mum and dad were busy at work as teachers which meant long holidays abroad in the summer and nowhere for the pet to go. As we got older my sister would often ask mum and dad for a cat and they always said no. When my eldest brother moved out he decided to cause a little mischief and arrived back at the family home with two beautiful little kittens – one for him and one for our sister! Mum and dad were not happy but there was no way they could tell my sister she couldn’t keep it! Luckily we were old enough by then to not be going on holidays with mum and dad every year so they had no more excuses to say no!
Barney was our first pet and a really nice placid cat who loved a good hunt and getting up to no good. To stop him ruining the furniture my mum and dad bought him a scratching post and a lovely cat tree and he took to them like a duck to water! He just to love darting in through the cat flap and straight up the cat tree to look down at us as we would be eating our diner. A truly great cat!
Unfortunately, Barney didn’t pass on through natural causes but had a mishap with a car on our road. By then, my sister had moved out but the cat had stayed with us as she lived in a small first storey flat. As he had been used to an outside life we all felt it wouldn’t be fair to him to become an indoor cat but unfortunately that would become his down fall. I still remember having a tear in my eye as I was digging his grave in our back garden. There really is a lot to be said for owning a pet and I know when I start my own family I will definitely be getting a cat!
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