Goodbye little Phoebe

Four years ago we adopted two little rescue kittens who we named Phoebe and Hobbes.  Phoebe was very much my cat and I really loved her.  She has featured here in some previous posts.  She loved the dolls house.

Last year an elderly neighbour started to encourage Phoebe into her house.  I visited this woman on many occasions and begged her to stop trying to steal Phoebe.  She was very difficult to deal with.  Eventually she agreed that she would ‘mist’ Phoebe with water from a spray ‘mister’ to discourage her.  But this was a lie.  She continued to take Phoebe into her house and told me that to spray her with water was the cruellest thing she ever heard and she would not do it.

Phoebe wore a collar with a magnet on it to allow her enter our house through the cat flap.  I saw Phoebe at our front door a couple of months ago with her collar on but the magnet had been carefully removed.  I was very upset and bought her a new one and a little identity ‘barrel’ in which I put a note which said ‘I have a loving home.  Do not steal me’ and our telephone number.

Last Monday night I was in Vienna (attending to some rather difficult family business) when I got a phone call from my son.  He had been telephoned by the local vet to say that some old woman had brought Phoebe in to be ‘put down’.  This witch claimed that Phoebe was her cat.  The vet opened the identity barrel and found our message.  He was furious with her for pretending she was Phoebe’s owner and told her he would have to contact us immediately.  My poor son had to phone me to tell me that Phoebe was extremely ill, in pain and would have to be put down immediately.  Obviously he wanted to get my view on this.  I am so sad.  Little Phoebe did not deserve her life to end this way.  Evidently this vile woman was feeding Phoebe with food that was not suitable for cats and the little animal got all kinds of diseases and a tumour.

I am still trying to come to terms with how someone can be so cruel as to steal someone’s much loved pet, neglect it and then secretly take it off to be killed.  Unfortunately the vet told me that this was not the first cat that this woman had stolen.

What a sad end for my little Phoebe.  I am so sad that was not able to say goodbye or stroke her little head to comfort her on her last night. You will be missed my gentle, loving little friend.