In December of 2007, we adopted 13 year old Oscar through the Golden Oldies program. He was so fat that he fell through the bottom of the cardboard pet carrier!! We had to borrow a dog carrier to take him home in. From that moment on it was love at first sight for us. He, on the other hand was reserving judgement until he saw the contents of our fridge and pantry!
Oscar soon made himself at home with our other pets, Toby a domestic short hair cat and Monty our pure black Kelpie. It soon became clear who the real boss was….yep, Oscar! He has filled our lives with so much enjoyment (and fear if we were eating!) over the past 5 years.
He was particularly good at snaking a slice of pizza from the box when you least expected it. Also he used to use his paws to lower the edge of my dinner plate to see how much was left for him. He would even scoff the Dogs food if he was silly enough to leave it unattended!!
Oscar was so healthy that we thought he would outlive us all. He was playful and surprisingly agile for a man of his years (and size). Sadly 2 weeks ago Oscar was diagnosed with a brain tumor after he had a fit. My husband (Oscar’s best mate) and I had to make the heart wrenching decision to have Oscar put to sleep. I have not cried that hard since my Mum died, nor have I ever seen my husband cry like that. We are still so overwhelmed with sadness.
Oscar made such a difference to our lives. He wasn’t just a cat. He had so much personality, he was very popular with all our friends and family. The house seems so empty without him, even with two other pets. Despite how sad I feel, I would never trade a minute with Oscar for anything.
I totally recommend adopting a golden oldie, they have so much to offer.
