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To a dear friend. 

Baldrick came into my life as a small bundle of ginger fur back in 1989 when I had nothing else. He was given to me by my landladie's little daughter. "To cheer up a sad man" she said. He was the last thing I wanted, no home, no job and all my friends were living a different life. I was in Skelmersdale and if you have ever been to "Skem" you will know how depressing it is! You see I had just come out of the Army after 25 years and my world seem to collapse around me.

I named him Baldrick because as small as he was he would get himself in such a mess, he had such a character, a way of getting whatever he wanted just by looking at me with those big eyes and simple meeeeow. He had the loudest purr I had ever heard.

Later that year my Father passed away and on one of my visits to see Mum in Yeovil I realized that she was missing Dad so much that her world had also collapsed. I immediately drove back to Skem, picked up Baldric and gave him to Mum. Instant change, She doted on him, gave her a reason to get up in the morning. Things got better for the both of us, I moved to Somerset and met my wife Les and Mum moved to sheltered housing in Wincanton with Baldrick.

Baldrick meant everything to Mum, she doted on him. He was over fed, weighed nearly two stone at one stage! I remember that she would call him in at least half an hour before it got dark, as early as 3pm in the winter, she use to panic if he was out I the dark.

In 1996 we moved to Coxley and sadly Mum's health took a turn for the worse. He had given her years of happiness. We decided to have Baldrick with us, not a popular decision with our other two cats Dick and Fanny. Sadly Mum left us in 98 and Baldrick continued to maintain he was boss cat around our house. I guess you could say that they agreed to tolerate each other with the fur flying from time to time. Baldrick became very possessive of me, always wanting my company, followed me constantly. Always sleeping by my side, purring all night keeping us awake at times. We became inseparable and when ever Les and I were away on holiday he would loose weight despite being given the best of attention by those who looked after them. A couple of years ago he started having kidney problems and was prescribed pills. He was slowly going down hill but his quality of life was still very good.

Last week it became apparent that he was having serious problems and we took him to the vets. His retina's had become detached and he was only able to see shades of black and white. We could not let him suffer and he was put to sleep in my arms.

It was the hardest thing we have ever had to do and we were both in floods of tears as we laid him to rest in the garden. Dick and fanny seem to miss him, Dick hasn't eaten well since and Fanny keeps lying on Baldricks favorite cushion. The house is very quiet, that loud purr has gone forever. I guess in time we will get over his going but we will never forget such a special Dear Friend.

What do you think?

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Posts: 48

At 09:45 on 13th September 2007, John Boles responded:

It’s truly bizarre, but I too had to go and rescue a pub cat from a landlady who had died – in Hastings / Bexhill on Sea.

This cat, Sweepie, had a fierce reputation and was missing an eye from a collision with a milk float!

Up to that point, I didn’t take to cats, but far from being a nasty bit of work, Sweepie was from all accounts just like Baldrick.

We had her for about 3 years before she developed a massive growth on her shoulder bone, which turned out to be bone cancer. I took her to Midsomer Norton vets and they told us the best and kindest thing to do would be to put her to sleep. I placed her in a massive cage beside a barking dog and she just looked at me as if to say ‘what the hell are you leaving me here for’!

I wish I could have been as brave as you and saved her the short stint in the cage by holding her whilst the vet did the business, but truth was, I needed a shot of something myself.

I was a blubbering wreck by the time I had exited the vets, having absolutely drowned the consent form with tears – to this day it still makes me cry when I think about it and it must be a good 20 years now!

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Joined: 27 Aug 2007
Posts: 7

At 10:01 on 14th September 2007, Pete P commented:

Thanks John. Difficult times for us all if we are true lovers of animals. A number of years before Baldrick came along I had a young kitten (McGreggor) jump into the toilet whilst I, and my then Wife, were away at work. I came home and found him and despite my best efforts he had to be put down, vowed then never to have another one!
Having said that, the joy we get from having them far outweighs the pain of their passing. Dick and Fanny are 13 now so there will be more heartache to come some time in the future, until then we make the most of every moment that they are with us.

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