My Second-Hand Cats

Introduction

   Of the thirteen cats I have owned or still own, only one came to me in his kitten days. Two of the others  were under a year old when I first had them, but one was well into his sixteenth year. So it is this fact which gives the book its title. Older cats can settle into new surroundings very well indeed if one takes just a little care to give them time to adjust.

   Peter and I married later on in life than most couples and we did not produce a family. That has left me open to the remark from one or two  people, "You have no children, so your cats must be like children". Perish the thought! Cats are animals and it is unkind to treat them as anything else. To treat pets as people in fur coats is a sign that all is not well with the person who acts in this way. I once heard someone say, "My dog is the child I never had." No, being kind to an animal starts with accepting it for what it is, not making it into a substitute for something else.

   Six of the feline characters in this book were still with us at the time the book was written in 2006.

   Sooty, the little black cat of the penultimate chapter, has made a bid to be regarded as co-author of this slim volume. At least she has sat on my lap each time I have worked at it. Realistically her main contribution to the writing has been sometimes nuzzling my fingers as I type and also shedding black hairs over the computer keyboard. If she rests her head on my thumbs, she enjoys having her chin tickled while I type. But she has provided the subject matter for one chapter of this story.

    You could read this book as a kind of warning. After all, once upon a time, in fact a quarter of a century ago, we were a respectable one-cat household. Then cats began to happen to us in ways that you can read about here. You will notice that the last chapter is entitled, 'Six Cats in One Garden'! That is our current situation.  This book charts our progress down that slippery slope!

   However, what I hope is that in the following pages I can share with you something of the delight that these cats, all such different characters, have brought me.