A sad goodbye to Tigerlily

Tigerlily, one of our oldest cats, passed away in her sleep yesterday.  She was 19 years and had spent all her life in the sanctuary.   Tigerlily was the only kitten of a stray cat brought in all those years ago.   Her mother was called Tabitha and they were inseparable until she died three years ago.   Tabitha couldn’t give birth naturally and Tigerlily was the sole survivor of a caesarian section.   It cost £400 so she was an expensive kitten!

Tabitha loved her daughter dearly but didn’t have any milk to feed her, so although she did all the cuddling and washing, we bottle fed Tigerlily until she was old enough to eat.   They were inseparable.  Tabitha was more outgoing and a bit of a hunter, Tigerlily was the stay home girl.

Tigerlily was Pete’s (our late Pet Samaritans Trustee) special girl and he was the only person she allowed to pick her up.  She loved him dearly and missed him a lot when he died suddenly, while he was feeding the cats – just how he would have wanted to go.   When her mom also passed away Tigerlily became more withdrawn, she missed her too.   She still kept eating well though and apart from a problem with one of her ears, she remained in good health and active.

Tigerlily went to sleep yesterday and never woke up, we found her curled up in her basket.   It was the best way to go for her but so sad for us.   Tigerlily is together again with Tabitha and with Pete and that is good ….. but we’ll miss you such a lot dear friend …….