Tribute to Amy (19)
I'm sorry to be making another memorial post, I know some people don't like seeing these.
I wanted to share some of my favourite pictures of Amy on what would have been her 20th birthday. Unfortunately she didn't quite make it. On 21 March 2026 I had to make the difficult decision to put her to sleep after a trip to the emergency vet.
Amy came into my life about 15 years ago, she was 4/5 years old at the time. Her previous owner suffered from Alzheimers and had to go into a home after almost burning her house down. Amy lived in the house for a while after her owner had moved into care, looked after by my work colleague who lived next door, but eventually she had to be shut out of the house. My colleague tried to take her in and look after her, but she already had two cats (incidentally, they were Amy's kittens that she had at about 1 year old) but she did not play well with other cats, so she was living in a little cat house in the garden.
When I first went to see her, she hissed at me from her hiding spot. It didn't put me off. At the time, I was renting a room off one of my best mates. Amy came to live with us, and spent about 3 or 4 weeks hiding under a cupboard, only venturing out to eat and go to the toilet. The carpet in the room was some 70s style leaf pattern and in those first weeks, she was really good at leaving poops camouflaged on the floor. She soon figured out the litter tray and there was a great cheer the day we saw her first poop in the tray! Eventually she warmed up to us and ultimately chose my bed as her sleeping spot.
My mate was getting married so I eventually moved out and lived on my own with Amy for about 12 years. She was a great companion, it was always a joy to get home and see her greet me at the front door.
She loved to chill in the sun in the garden on hot days, and chase butterflies in her younger years. Even up to this year, whenever she saw another cat in the garden she would send it packing. She loved to sleep on her heated pad that I got for her in the last couple of years.
She was in pretty good health for most of her life. Up until the last 2 years, she only ever needed to go to the vets for her annual check up/jabs. The past 2 years she had a couple of blips and had been getting monthly arthritis jabs, but otherwise she was pretty healthy. Every month, the vets would comment on how good she looked for her age.
My mate who co-owned Amy with me for the first few years unfortunately passed away last year. She was quite a scaredy-cat around humans but always remembered him when he would come visit.
Thanks for reading about Amy. She was the best friend a guy could have. My home has never felt so empty these past 7 weeks without her. I'm just gutted she didn't make it to 20, but it wasn't far off. She was spoiled, had a good long life mostly in good health.
Amy. 11 May 2006 to 21 March 2026. I'll never forget you Aimster!