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RIP Mr T
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Mt T turned up at SAFE HQ about 2 years ago. He hung about on the periphery, and seemed a lot tamer than others who had visited regularly in the past. Most people know that SAFE’s mission is to catch every homeless cat--and this was the plan for Mr T! As time went on, he came by more regularly, and was more comfortable getting closer to us. He was fed regularly, and soon he and Denise started a liaison. That’s when we discovered he was quite tame!
With 3 older adult cats already residing at SAFE, it was difficult to invite Mr T indoors. As we all know, the next step after feeding a homeless cat, is to have the cat .desexed, and with Mr T this occurred quite quickly. He was only given a short amount of time to recuperate indoors, as at the time we had concerns he might have been contributing to the decline of Indi, the resident male cat at SAFE.
On June 2nd, 2010, a strange series of events occurred where all 3 cats living at SAFE passed away on the same day. Symbol and Beattie had lived here with me for 18 years, and Indi had been a homeless cat who had joined them 9 years before--not long prior to SAFE’s inception.(Indi like Mr T had started visiting and being fed and desexed and made his home here) On that morning, I heard barking coming from SAFE’s side driveway, and found Symbol in the jaws of 2 dogs. With a lot of screaming, I got Symbol from them, into a cage, and straight to the vets, but she passed away on the trip there. Indi was already booked into the vets that same day. We could see he wasn’t right, and didn’t believe it was just to do with a new male cat encroaching on his territory. Denise had left work to meet me at the vets on Symbols passing, and then came with me to Indi’s vet appointment. When we were told he had diabetes and would need daily injections and a big change of diet, we decided the kindest option was to have him humanely euthanised. Beattie had just begun to walk into things, and we had planned to take her to the vet. As both of us were available, we booked her in for an appointment, where we were told she was totally blind. Since she was already 18, liked living outside and rarely came in, we decided that euthanasia was the kindest solution for her as well. It was a very surreal and unexpected day—one that changed the lives of all involved.
That night Mr T was invited inside and he walked in the door as though returning to his home and he never looked back from that moment! He got on well with the 3 dogs from the beginning and was a great buddy for Amber. I think they saw themselves as top of the pecking order for both the dog and cat population constantly going through SAFE HQ, and this superiority cemented their relationship!
Mr T lived a totally blessed life choosing Denise as his human, and ensuring she was always available to meet his every need. She did this with the commitment on a par with any human who has been chosen to serve royalty in any shape or form! Mr T and Denise were inseparable, except of course when she went to work . He spent this time snoozing on top of the cupboard in her room.
Mr T had taken on Amber’s greeter role when Denise arrived home from work. As soon as Denise opened the door, Mr T would race out and do welcome-home rolls on a special patch on the lawn. He liked to be involved in all of her activities. He often helped with the gardening, and would assist in any capacity be it on the computer, on the couch, or at meal times. Wherever Denise was, Mr T could be found close by.
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Mr T with his human Denise Bowles
Go away, cruel world!
Sleeping is the best medicine.
Mr T in a state of reflection.
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Mr T lived a much loved and fulfilled life since arriving at SAFE. Like most cats he spent much of it sleeping--in every possible place and position imaginable. His favourite was on his back, with all four paws in the air. He had ongoing health issues which were causing a decline in his quality of his life. He struggled to breathe all night on the 2nd of February, and after much testing it was decided that we would not allow his suffering to continue. On Friday the 3rd of February he was humanely euthanised at Karratha Veterinary Clinic. The staff there have all been supportive and caring with their veterinary care throughout his life.)
Mr T was instrumental in converting Denise to being a much-needed advocate for the Cat Population. She can now help convert other people who think that ”Dogs are Man’s Best Friend” to “Cats are Everyone’s special companion”. (Animal Rescue Groups are going well in saving every rehomable dog, but sadly , thousands upon thousands of healthy, rehomable cats are euthanised across Australia every year.) Cats are well suited to a world where people don’t always have the time required by our canine companions (who, like humans, are much needier of both time and attention). To honour Mr T’s time at SAFE HQ, please join us in our mission to reach zero euthanasia for every rehomable cat by encouraging people to foster a cat and find out about all the positives of being a cat’s human!
We are all here to make the most of the time we have. At SAFE, we have learned that quality is far more important than longevity, and that suffering is far worse than a peaceful passing on. The more we are able to live each moment to the fullest the easier it is to move on to the next moment. The more we can turn away from the closed door to the new one opening, the more we are able to embrace the life that we have, and be grateful for all that is brought to us.
(written by SAFE Founder Sue Hedley)
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