Heidi and Rosie
I thought I would send in photos of my two cats Heidi (right) and Rosie (below). Heidi is now almost 8 years old and was adopted with Roxy (a black cat) from Paws & Claws in April 2001.
I had been living with Richard (now my husband) for about a year and thought it was about time we got some cats - when I saw an advert in the Friday Ad looking for home for two nervous cats, I just couldn't resist! Heidi and Roxy were living with foster parents in Burgess Hill and when I walked up the path and saw this brown tabby sitting on the window sill looking out at me, I was smitten.
I am not sure that Heidi was as keen as she ran away as soon as we went indoors and I know that Roxy wasn't - she hissed at Richard when he went to stroke her!
After a home check Heidi and Roxy became ours and we took them home - the advert wasn't kidding when it said they were nervous, they spent the first week hiding in a cupboard! Eventually we won them over and it wasn't long before they were ruling the roost. As you will see from the photo, Heidi has put on a lot of weight (but not as much as the photo would suggest - I think it's just my bad photography!) but that is probably because she isn't overly keen on going anywhere faster than a leisurely stroll.
Sadly we lost Roxy to cancer just over 3 years ago. Richard and I were heartbroken - so was Heidi as she took to wandering around wailing all night as she searched for the cat who had been her companion since she was just a few days old.
We thought it might help Heidi to have a new cat to keep her company and so in November 2005 we contacted Paws & Claws to see if they might have a suitable cat. Of course they did and black & white Rosie, then around a year old, came home with us.
She certainly took Heidi's mind off her loss - I don't think anyone had told Rosie she wasn't still a kitten and over 2 years on, she still hasn't changed. She nags Heidi to play with her morning, noon and night and I have never come across a cat with such a piercing miaow.
They do seem to get on very well though, although there might be the occasional hiss or swipe when Heidi is woken from her afternoon nap by a bundle of black and white fur leaping on her from a great height, I have never seen them have a proper fight. Apparently we are the third family to have Rosie and all I can say is the other two have missed out on a beautiful, loving cat.
Warmest regards
Wendy, 7th March 2008
PS Many, many years ago, I should think in the late 70s, our family adopted a ginger and white kitten from you. We called him Hawkins and he lived to a ripe old age. Even now, possibly 15 years after he died, I still miss him dearly. The other day I came across a photo of him so I will scan it in and e-mail it to you.