RIP Whats-his-name

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animal on September 19, 2008 at 10:00 am


The passing of a cat has spawned a neighborhood memorial. The cat was known as Ginger, Dave, Atkinson, or Fonzworthy III. A shrine of flowers and notes have gathered at Holloway Street in Bath, England as the many who fed the ginger tom mourn his death. The cat was put down by a vet after a diagnosis or organ failure. The neighbors have even started a Facebook Group to remember him.

One tribute addressed to Dave read: ‘We’ve enjoyed your company immensely over the years and will miss and remember you.’ Tony Brown, 66, knew the cat as Atkinson. ‘When he died, we thought we ought to put a notice up because he was so well known,’ he said.

‘Suddenly, there was an extraordinary outpouring of grief and this Diana-like shrine began to grow. It was only then we discovered just how many people were looking after him.

‘You couldn’t own Atkinson, he was his own cat. My epitaph for him is he was owned by no one but belonged to everyone.’

Link -via Arbroath


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COMMENT

25 comments to "RIP Whats-his-name"

  1. cooties
    September 19th, 2008 at 10:24 am

    I recently had to be the decision maker for a feral cat in our neighbouhood. Mickey had been 'ours' for 15 years - living outdoors in Ontario the entire time. It took me 5 years to get him to trust me; others had known him longer, and he trusted them.

    We all looked out for him, but toward the end no one could go near him; he'd been attacked by a raccoon and was too badly injured to protect himself from other feral toms. Eventually, he went blind and detiorated rapidly.

    One day, I found him unde a car, sleeping. Flies were everywhere and he could barely life his head. he knew it was time to go.

    I called the animal control office, and waited with some other neighbours (we all wanted to say good-bye, but no one wanted to look at him). I lay down on the pavement next to him, and talked to him.

    We all agreed that any cat that had survived outdoors for 15 years deserved to an exit better than under a car or at the jaws of another animal.

    He put up a 'fight' as they caged him (the control officer let out several 'oh my God!' when she saw his condition), and I soothed him by letting him sniff my fingers.

    Eventually, Mickey simply lay down his head in the cage and went back to sleep. He had also decided it was time to go.

  2. Miss Cellania
    September 19th, 2008 at 10:28 am

    Aw, cooties, that story made my eyes leak. Rest in peace, Mickey.

  3. Bniamh
    September 19th, 2008 at 2:02 pm

    Sounds just like the children's book Six Dinner Sid

  4. Miss C
    September 19th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    [troll comment deleted - plus, impersonation of a really cool blogger. Double bad!]

  5. ted
    September 19th, 2008 at 3:37 pm

    Although I'm not quite as heartless as that, the idea of a Facebook page for a dead cat seems ludicrous even in the Facebook world.

  6. Ellen
    September 19th, 2008 at 4:01 pm

    Wow...I think, Miss C, that caring for and cherishing ALL life is what will make this world a better place.

  7. David B
    September 19th, 2008 at 4:45 pm

    Miss C. I doubt very much if any child in this world is starving due to someone showing care and concern for another type of creature, furry or not. Children starve because of greed in one form or another, not because some people in England fed an alley cat. By the way, I've invested plenty of emotion on a variety of feline friends throughout the years and had that investment returned tenfold. I guess a Facebook page is ludicrous for a cat since Facebook is for young teenagers to post pictures of their debauchery, and for pedophiles to "hook up" with our kids.

  8. Peeves
    September 19th, 2008 at 5:16 pm

    Great stories. The Facebook group was a great idea..otherwise they'd have no idea how big the community was that cared for him. So interesting.

  9. Miss C
    September 19th, 2008 at 6:20 pm

    Care about your own species. Nothing wrong with having a pet but don't think they are anything special enough to cry about. That's a perversion of your human empathy.

  10. Peeves
    September 19th, 2008 at 6:24 pm

    Isn't unusual disregard for animals a sign of sociopathic tendencies? Should we be looking in Miss C's crawlspace? Love for animals in no way suggests lack of love for fellow human beings. Bizarre.

  11. Miss Cellania
    September 19th, 2008 at 6:29 pm

    Oh! I thought you were talking about me there for a minute... but I see there is another Miss C!

  12. Joe the Troll
    September 19th, 2008 at 10:29 pm

    Miss C.,

    Cats deserve love and respect. A great deal of humans do not. If that confuses you, look in the mirror and see the latter.

  13. Dianne
    September 19th, 2008 at 10:30 pm

    It's a beautiful story. Once again, bless the Beast and the Children. In this case, bless these caring neighbors.

  14. Taylor
    September 19th, 2008 at 10:35 pm

    Fontzworthy III: That's a great name for a cat!!!! Didn't somebody say (all I know is it wasn't me), "a nation is judged by the way it treats it's animals." If so, the gentle people of Bath ,England should be proud of themselves.

  15. deejay
    September 19th, 2008 at 10:37 pm

    Anybody who doesn't understand or makes fun of this article has evidently never lost an animal they loved.

  16. Max Power
    September 20th, 2008 at 12:02 am

    Pretty poor, Miss C. :D

  17. Siberian owner
    September 20th, 2008 at 2:36 am

    To those who think caring is wasted on animals: Love is not a zero sum game. There is more than enough to share. It only runs out if you think you need to ration it.

  18. ted
    September 20th, 2008 at 8:26 am

    I think the ersatz Miss C is trolling there a little.

    And you're right about Facebook, David. Although I thouhgt most of the pedophiles were over on Myspace. We really ought to keep better track of them...

  19. Cat Killer
    September 20th, 2008 at 12:14 pm

    I like running over cats when I drive. I've killed 15 so far.

  20. Danny
    September 20th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    Nice tribute to human stupidity!

  21. David B
    September 20th, 2008 at 4:32 pm

    Taylor. Here is what you are looking for.

    "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man"
    ~ Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

    Cat Killer. You're probably going to prison and certainly hell. Have a good time.

    Miss C. I try to care about my own species and then people like you and Cat Killer show up.

  22. Taylor
    September 20th, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    David B: THANKS for the entire quote!

  23. Larfin Jackarse
    September 20th, 2008 at 9:14 pm

    Is it Troll Sunday?

  24. The Slapster
    September 21st, 2008 at 9:27 pm

    Miss C: I'd cry more for ANY animal than I would for you or any of your poorly-raised spawn. You're a pretty sad example of "humanity" and I for one am ashamed to share even a single piece of DNA with the likes of you.

    /trollfeeding off

  25. belinda
    September 21st, 2008 at 9:37 pm

    here is another quote that seems appropriate...

    "We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” - Immanuel Kant


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