Hello, I am Isabella. For seventeen years I had a beautiful ten month old short hair tabby named Chili whom I received from a woman who looked after feral cats. She would spay and neuter, get their first vaccinations, and return them to their feral home in the wood but she came by daily and fed the cats. She had placed an ad in a local paper giving away the ferals who were most likely to be friendly and good with people. So on 9 April 2001, Chili came to live with me and my children. I'll make a long story short....she did go round to spend time with each family member and then one night, she literally came knocking at my door. I at first thought it was one of the children but when I went to the door it was lovely Chili. I left the door ajar and went back to bed and next I knew, she was on the bed. She came over and lay down beside me between me and the edge of the mattress. A seventeen relationship was beginning and she saw me through everything, including a horrible marriage full of domestic abuse. We still had many wonderful years until this past 25th July when my gorgeous, loving girl died in my arms just past midnight from her two year battle with hyperthyroidism, renal failure, and probably some other things we never learned of. She had a wonderful veterinarian whom I credit with giving me those extra two years with my very best friend ever. I miss my darling girl still.
Before Chili left me - physically only because her spirit lives on and I hold her
dear in my heart, which was just the place she wanted to lay upon in her last couple of months - but before she left, my eldest daughter and I had begun taking care of a family of ferals. The mother was a gorgeous tortie with long fur, and she had five kittens - a large yellow fellow we called Pip, a stunning calico girl we called Pippa, a large tuxedo boy we called Athelstan, a sleek and gorgeous tabby boy we called Albert [I had thought he was a she in the beginning so we called him Victoria to start til he finally was more definitively a boy so we renamed him Albert after Queen Victoria's husband], and a pretty tabby tuxie we called Taxi - combining Tabby and Tuxie. From the beginning, Pippa took to me. I rather liked her and all...she was definitely the alpha female we learned as we cared for them. But I did not wish to give my heart away as it belonged to Chili. Still, Pippa was working toward being a house cat. Each time I opened my kitchen door she would come in and look round. Of course, she would leave fairly soon after but she wanted to size up her home-to-be it would seem. After nearly a year of feeding and caring for our outdoor cats - they were certainly no longer feral! - Pip was hurt badly by something or someone. He had dragged himself back to ours unable to walk as his hind legs were dead. I called for an animal protection person to come get him so we could get him to hospital but before they could he died. The other cats were in morning and Isobel had just given birth to six more kittens with them living at another house, and Pippa had also given birth but we could not find the babies until they were about five or six weeks old. One passed away soon after and my daughter and I panicked over more kitties dying so we put a large cage in the dining room so they would not be bother by her cat and my son's cat, fixed it nice and cosy for them and brought Pippa and her two remaining babies indoors. The kittens were fragile, the winter had been hard, but we bathed them, warmed them and they fed. Unfortunately, the little tuxie girl we named Bastet after the Egyptian cat Goddess, passed away in the night and Pippa awoke us with her mourning call. So we kept a very keen eye on her remaining baby, a little calico girl we named Freya. She had a lot of fight in her for today she is just over 8 months old and very fiesty and healthy.
As you can see, Freya is a law unto herself, ha ha. But back to me and Pippa - she eventually worked her way into our family life and she and Freya provided us all with a lot of laughs, still do. But Pippa wanted to be my cat, it was obvious. She would come into my room to have a tour once in a while. This would be unheard of before Chili's illness. Chili would have seen her off post haste! But my girl was much more tolerant in the end...almost like she approved this new girl....
As I said, Chili went on to her new adventures in a new world just after midnight 25 July...and the most unusual thing happened. Pippa came to my door as a I cradled my girl in my arms and cried. I don't know how long she was there but then she struck up her mourning call and walked down the length of the hall crying out to the other cats. I have never known another cat like her, in all honesty.
Pippa seemed to know it was too soon to expect to stay overnight in my room so she would visit me every day but leave fairly soon after. About a week or two later, she came to stay. I felt so guilty at first but I also felt that for some reason, she was meant to be mine and me to be hers. Because that is how feral cats are. They choose you, not the other way round. And she has been the dearest companion to me since my Chili left. I know I couldn't have gotten through it without Pippa. I can now tell her I love her without pangs of guilt. I'm sorry I rattled on so long, forgive me...It's cathartic for me and boring for you, I'm sure but I just needed to talk, I suppose. Thank you to everyone for help you've given me even if we haven't spoken. It's good to have a place to learn new things about our dear kitties, isn't it? Many thanks and warmest blessings to all x Pippa and me
My Pippa - not a replacement but an additions
Before Chili left me - physically only because her spirit lives on and I hold her
dear in my heart, which was just the place she wanted to lay upon in her last couple of months - but before she left, my eldest daughter and I had begun taking care of a family of ferals. The mother was a gorgeous tortie with long fur, and she had five kittens - a large yellow fellow we called Pip, a stunning calico girl we called Pippa, a large tuxedo boy we called Athelstan, a sleek and gorgeous tabby boy we called Albert [I had thought he was a she in the beginning so we called him Victoria to start til he finally was more definitively a boy so we renamed him Albert after Queen Victoria's husband], and a pretty tabby tuxie we called Taxi - combining Tabby and Tuxie. From the beginning, Pippa took to me. I rather liked her and all...she was definitely the alpha female we learned as we cared for them. But I did not wish to give my heart away as it belonged to Chili. Still, Pippa was working toward being a house cat. Each time I opened my kitchen door she would come in and look round. Of course, she would leave fairly soon after but she wanted to size up her home-to-be it would seem. After nearly a year of feeding and caring for our outdoor cats - they were certainly no longer feral! - Pip was hurt badly by something or someone. He had dragged himself back to ours unable to walk as his hind legs were dead. I called for an animal protection person to come get him so we could get him to hospital but before they could he died. The other cats were in morning and Isobel had just given birth to six more kittens with them living at another house, and Pippa had also given birth but we could not find the babies until they were about five or six weeks old. One passed away soon after and my daughter and I panicked over more kitties dying so we put a large cage in the dining room so they would not be bother by her cat and my son's cat, fixed it nice and cosy for them and brought Pippa and her two remaining babies indoors. The kittens were fragile, the winter had been hard, but we bathed them, warmed them and they fed. Unfortunately, the little tuxie girl we named Bastet after the Egyptian cat Goddess, passed away in the night and Pippa awoke us with her mourning call. So we kept a very keen eye on her remaining baby, a little calico girl we named Freya. She had a lot of fight in her for today she is just over 8 months old and very fiesty and healthy.
As you can see, Freya is a law unto herself, ha ha. But back to me and Pippa - she eventually worked her way into our family life and she and Freya provided us all with a lot of laughs, still do. But Pippa wanted to be my cat, it was obvious. She would come into my room to have a tour once in a while. This would be unheard of before Chili's illness. Chili would have seen her off post haste! But my girl was much more tolerant in the end...almost like she approved this new girl....
As I said, Chili went on to her new adventures in a new world just after midnight 25 July...and the most unusual thing happened. Pippa came to my door as a I cradled my girl in my arms and cried. I don't know how long she was there but then she struck up her mourning call and walked down the length of the hall crying out to the other cats. I have never known another cat like her, in all honesty.
Pippa seemed to know it was too soon to expect to stay overnight in my room so she would visit me every day but leave fairly soon after. About a week or two later, she came to stay. I felt so guilty at first but I also felt that for some reason, she was meant to be mine and me to be hers. Because that is how feral cats are. They choose you, not the other way round. And she has been the dearest companion to me since my Chili left. I know I couldn't have gotten through it without Pippa. I can now tell her I love her without pangs of guilt. I'm sorry I rattled on so long, forgive me...It's cathartic for me and boring for you, I'm sure but I just needed to talk, I suppose. Thank you to everyone for help you've given me even if we haven't spoken. It's good to have a place to learn new things about our dear kitties, isn't it? Many thanks and warmest blessings to all x Pippa and me
My Pippa - not a replacement but an additions
I am so sorry for your loss of Chili. 
Also the loss of your other kittens. 
My heartfelt sympathies go out to you on the loss of your beloved Chili. 
Your statement about her getting you through a difficult time in your life makes her even more special. Cats are so intuitive and Pippa knew that too. 
Thank you for your dedication to the feral cats in your community. Please keep us updated on Freya also.
