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.
Link -via Arbroath
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
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.
Cats deserve love and respect. A great deal of humans do not. If that confuses you, look in the mirror and see the latter.
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...
"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.
/trollfeeding off
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” - Immanuel Kant