We got Purrdy as a rescue from a local cat sanctuary as a kitten, and life was never the same again!
She had been abandoned several times before she arrived with us, and she had issues trusting people. It was most definitely a case of we may occupy the same space, but that is all the relationship between us is.
Gradually, over time she came to trust us, and decided that we were her people after all. It was several years before she would honour us with her presence in our laps, and it was always on her terms! Never did she become a cat that enjoyed being hugged.
We came to fulfill very different but important roles:
Joy was there to make things feel better when it was not good
Richard was there to be blamed for things being not right, and would often come home to be greeted with a look of “and it’s all your fault!”
Purrdy had a knack of wrapping everyone around her paw, she even managed to get Joys father and our neighbour Winston, who both never liked cats, to admit that they were quite fond of her. She would just fix you with her gaze, as if to say “how can you not like me?” and wait for her victim to fall under her spell.
Life was often lived at a sprint, and many a time she would bounce off of the scenery as she charged around the house and garden, sometimes with unfortunate results.
Despite her high-speed life, she was remarkably healthy, needing only one operation when she was 14 to have a tooth removed. However, as she got older, she started to have fits, which were eventually diagnosed as being due to a brain trauma when she was young. This did not stop her zest for life, or slow her down. Even at the age of 17 she was haring down the stairs despite an arthritic rear leg, and chasing the local cats out of her garden if she ever caught sight of them.
In her last couple of weeks, her age finally caught up with her, and she was forced to slow down and take things easy. Despite having problems eating and laboured breathing, she remained in good spirits.
On May 5th 2020, after a final night with us to say our good-byes, she went to the vets who confirmed that her health was deteriorating fast and it was time to let her go.
She left us, having had a full and crazy life, having touched dozens of people many who never met her in person. We all will miss her in so many different ways – from her phone conversations with the doctors, friends and family; her videos and photos on Facebook; the neighborhood cats who walked a wary path around the fence on lookout for the brown bundle of fury; shoving her nose into our affairs and arms at inopportune times.
Purrdy Gartside
2002-2020 RIP