Fritzie

After we'd agreed not to foster, or adopt any further cats, Fritzie came into our lives.  He was an old man who looked like hell.  His fur was matted and sticking out everywhere.  He looked like he had mange, but he didn't.  He had scabs on his face and nose that would come and go.  He'd definitely seen better days.

 Shelter staff would let him out of the Adult cat room in the morning.  He'd eat his breakfast in the office, then walk back to Adult cat where he'd sit by the door until someone let him back in.  The staff grew quite fond of him.  Unfortunately he wasn't adoptable.  Apart from his age and appearance, two different vets had diagnosed him as going into organ failure, and had given him 3 months.  He wasn't showing any signs of failing, and the staff didn't have the heart to put him down, so Betty brought him home for a 2 week visit.

Fritz decided he liked the dining room, then hissed and growled at any cat that came near him.  Obviously he wasn't into being anybody's buddy.  He found the kitchen and a litter pan, but spent his days napping under the dining room table.

He would jump on the kitchen chair and eat his food at the table - the only thing missing was the table cloth and a napkin around his neck.  Sometimes he required a kiss on the forehead to get him started.  There was something endearing about this grumpy old man, so at the end of two weeks I looked at Betty & told her I didn't have the heart to send him back.  He only had 3 months, why not let him live them out in a nice house.  She agreed.

Two years later, Fritz, the "dying" cat, was still with us.  I don't know what we did, but it seemed to have given him a new lease on life.  He eventually ventured out from the dining room, learned the merits of a winter fireplace, and the joys of a sunbeam on the porch.  He claimed Betty's lawn chair for that.  He still looked like hell.  We did try to brush him out, but warning growls told us to make our attempts short. 

He passed away on a warm summer day in late August.  He spent the day on the porch, and then I carried him to his current favourite napping spot.  He never did make friends with any of the other cats.