This is a tribute to the life of my King George (mouse, bird)

[wild_spirited_elz]

King George (1989-2009) was the name and being King of the neighbourhood was the game!
He was born in July 1989 when I was only 2yrs old. Mum wanted a Ginger tabby for yrs and it just happened... We moved house and next door had a stray cat which had kittens in their garden! They adopted the momma and asked us if we wanted a kitten, so mum had asked whether they had a ginger tabby, in which he said "yes.. if you can get him away from mum..."
George was a real mummys boy from day one and he made it quite clear nobody else was gona be a favourite! When he was feeding he would push away all his brothers and sisters so he could have mum and milk aaaaaaall to himself!

When we got him, he was a little ginger and white tabby -he looked like a little tiger! Big paws, big ears and a lovely little white v shaped white mark inbetween his ears. It was love!

Mum asked me "why did you want to call him George?" and i replied "because hes George of the Jungle!"
That he was too! He loved his garden "his land" and no other cat was going to dare sit around or hang around his garden.. unless they were they were feeling very brave or very nieve..

George grew up to be some kind of a boy and he would follow me everywhere and i mean EVERYWHERE which did eventually get him into trouble..
You see, I was an only child and never had any brothers or sisters, so George was ready to fullfill that role! We played allsorts of games, he would even get inside my dolls house and we would have pretend afternoon tea! We used to go snail hunting together and we did practically everything together, but we would never fall out like brothers and sisters do! We were best buds from day one!
Anyway.. Going back to when he followed me..
The house we lived in had a converted loft space.. Which was made into my play room! The only catch and literally the "catch" was going up the ladder and making sure that the loft door was on its catch so it wouldnt come down and hurt you.
So as usual George followed me up into the loft and me being only a little girl of four slipped up (like kids do..) and forgot to put the catch on the loft door and as poor little Georgy followed me up.. the door went spalt and chopped a quarter of his tail off!! So.. off to the vets.. his first visit! But it was ok and it never stopped him from following me.. He had a few dull days of feeling a bit sorry for himself ..like you would!
Mum and I had a funny thought one day and thought.. "hhmm mayby George is a bit lonely, mayby he would like some feline company". Enter Kitty, who became Georges's girlfriend. They loved eachother to bits and would always be together... which lead onto some lovely kittens! Little carbon copies of George and Kitty! They were gorgeous!
But George didnt stop at just those litter of kittens....

As George grew, so did his urge for the ladies!! Soon enough he was out and would not want to come home as he was otherwise "engaged" with important dates! It got so bad that he started to run away for days on end and mum had to trap him in a cage to get him back home again! ..which George being George retaliated and scratced poor mum to peices! But all in the name of love! So mum gave George the "snip".. so George's time of playing cassanova (or should that be catanova?) was over and George was back to being my best bud and Kitties(and not the ladies of the neighbourhood/shire).

I grew up with George as you would of read and we both had such a wonderfull friendship. He got me through some very difficult times from chicken pocs to my mum and dad separating. He was there, he was always there to wipe up the tears and to snuggle under my arms wilst I was sleeping when ill. He loved me and I loved him...
When I was two and had my first taste of chocolate, I ate so much of it that I was really sickly.. and who was there under my blanket..? you guessed it, George!

George was never a fan of other animals and didnt really like any, apart from Kitty and sadly when we moved Kitty was murdered by a guy who lived in the neighbourhood along with alot of other pretty cats in the area. That man was found out, put in the papers and didnt get away with it! But it stil hurt.. Poor George grieved for a long time and I dont think ever really got over loosing Kitty.
Then we thought we would get another cat for George, so we chose Squeak! Although these two didnt always see eye to eye they were caught on several occasions snuggled up to eachother asleep! They did argue but I think they were friends..

With George forever fighting he was forever having injuries (though I would hate to see what the other cat looked like) like absesses and bits of fur missing here and there.
One day, a woman came to our door with a cat in her arms and said "your ginger cat has knocked out all the teeth out in my cats mouth!!" mum replied "well it couldnt have been my Georgy -look him him, hes so dosial.. he never fights..." and George played along with this, looking at mum like butter wouldnt melt in his mouth and giving the most angelic look he could possibly give from the sofa. Mum and I knew.. George probably was responsible.. But there wasnt anything we could do, George was very territorial.. So any cat that entered his land was a big huge no no!!

As time went by and moved to a bigger house George started to get a really bad ear and it got really bad and stank of cheese ..im talking like really extra muture stinky cheese! It was horrible, but i religiously would clean his ears twice a day. Then mum decided "enough is enough, he needs to goto a vet!" so off he went and the vet gave us the diagnosis.. Wasnt good, he had sists deep inside his ear canal, probably due to mites.
The options were limited as mum never had any money and the operation would cost alot. She said to me that she would have to put him down..
But the vet (who was extreamly kind and not some money grabber like some vets I knew) said that he really wanted to operate on George and he would do it cheaper than what it would cost to put him down. Mum just wasnt sure what to do and said she would need time to think. Then the vet called her up and said "i did the operation.." mum initaitlly was absolutly fuming mad!! She soon realized it was a real act of kindness and she didnt want to put him down in the 1st place.
When we picked George up from his keyhole surgery the vet explained
"Ive never in my 25yrs of being a vet had a cat on my operating table out cold from anestectic, purring his head off, its unheard of!" me and mum laughed and said "yep thats our George". He was always purring, even when he was asleep or eating, he was purring! I thought mayby he had a dodgy purr box, as he never stopped! It was such a lovely deep purr and when he used to jump on my bed he used to make such a funny noise like a PRIIIIIIIING almost like a door bell! It was so cute! So the purrs would follow as soon as he was on the bed!

George never caught any birds or mice, i dont thin he ever could, I think he really believed he never had to because he was King!
All the other cats we had would bring in a bird or a mouse in and thats when George would quite often take it off the other cat and pretend he caught it and looked so proud of himself! But he caught out and we saw him in the act of stealing! The only time I ever saw George attemt to get any bird was a fledgling that fell out the nest, but even then he couldnt catch it!!
He was so funny! With his big white paws that looked like socks and his big ginger strips, he was just like a mini tiger! But definitly no hunter!

A fighter and a lover that was what George was to me. He fought every battle and won and he won over so many hearts from friends of the family and even my ex's who George made sure he was in charge and not them! He would always get inbetween me and any bf, even if it meant squeesing into the smallest gap and pushing us apart, he would stop at no lengths to make sure we had his full attention! George was even known to get very jealous over bfs and would quite often bite them and give them a left or right hook! As far as George was concerned I was his and nobody elses!!
So I guess it must of hurt him when I left home, I think he thought I was abandoning him, I wanted to take him with me, but in his twilight yrs, he just couldnt make it up any stairs, and as my flat was a top flat, he would of never been able to get up a big flight of stairs, so I agreed he would have to stay with mum. It broke my heart to leave him, but like all animals, even I had to leave the nest!

There is so much I could talk about with George, we had 20 wonderful funny yrs together and there will be no other cat that will make me laugh as much as George did. Every day I miss him..
Im glad George spent his last few weeks at my house (as i now life in a bungalow) with me and im thankful that he went peacefully in his sleep. To witness him deteriating each day and watching him pretend that it was ok just to make me smile, was really hard. I knew he was suffering, with his arthritis and the vet told us there was lumps in his stomach and problems in his other ear (the one which was not operated on) and kidneys were shrinking. The vet gave him a steriod injection which she said would buck him up and last for about four weeks and told me that I would have to consider putting him to sleep, which broke my heart to hear those words. It was my worst nightmare coming true. He must of been in pain. But George being George never stopped purring and never stoped fighting, right till the very end. The day before he went, he ran in the garden and jumped on the sofa (something mum siad he hasnt done in ages) he also had his favourite dinner, tuna and he had some chicken! He always loved fresh food and he deserved it, being the best cat, he deserved to have what he liked!
I found him fri 3rd of july asleep on his blanket with Squeak sat beside him. When I touched his body, I knew he had gone. He looked like he just went in his sleep. I hope he didnt suffer, I prayed that god would help him go peacefully in his sleep and god answered my prayers.

We buried him on sat 4th July (his birthday) and when we laid down his grave stone Squeak sat on his grave. I felt so empty, I stil do. I asked George to show me that he didnt suffer and just to come down and give me a sign that he was ok. Out of nowhere appeared a beautifull white butterfly which came and sat next to Squeak, she just looked at it and looked at me and we knew George was saying "Hey, im ok and having a great time"
Rest in peace my best friend I will always love you George and miss you. You touched everbodys heart who knew you and we all love you xXx xXx xXx xXx xXx
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

[luvmycat]

A beautiful cat, and a beautiful tribute to honor his life...that butterfly was no coincidence...it was a sign to show you he is free and light and not in pain...he loves you enough to answer you, and he will always be beside you in spirit even though you can't touch or see him right now. This tribute brought tears to my eyes...sending healing & gentle energy your way.

[3chidogs]

King George was indeed a noble cat. Your beautiful tribute made me cry also. What a joy to have had that personality of a cat for 20 years. And what a lucky person you were that he "granted" you his presence! You gave him a loving home, and he gave you all the fun of an adventurous cat about town kind of life. Of course you will miss him, he was a focus of your life for so long. But he had a long and wonderful life. My sympathies on your loss. (If I were you I would print out your tribute and save it, it is a lovely story)

[Mtn. States Resident]

That was such a sweet and at times, funny, tribute to your beloved King George.

How lucky he was to have you in his life! And how lucky you were to have the veterinarian you had for him.

May your writing about King George help your healing process, as it is a process. I'm glad you were able to write and share so many memories with others.

I'm allergic to cats, but you almost made me wish I could have one (very briefly), given some of your experiences. So many memories you have to remember. Not everyone can say that.

A big cyber hug from the U.S. Do whatever you need to do to heal and remember, no one can take your memories away from you!

MSR

[centre]

Oh, what a beautiful tribute to George. (He looks like a king in that picture!) He sent that butterfly to you to comfort you and let you know he is ok and you are gonna be too. ((Hugs))

[bjh]

Great looking cat! I'm sorry you lost your friend, but glad you had him in your life!

[Summerz]

That is so lovely.

Belated {{HUGS}}

[Massgal66]

A wonderful tribute to a good friend. I know what you went through, watching King George get old and sick. It's so very hard. My cat Louie was born the same month and year as your cat--he's now 20 years old, frail and a little sickly, but still much the same boy as he's always been. I love him so much! I hope that when his time comes, he'll go in his sleep like your cat did. It was such a blessing for you to not have to make the decision to put him to sleep! You gave him a good life, and don't worry, you'll see him again someday.