Farewell, Damian (1998-2009)

You didn't even belong to us but, somehow, we belonged to you. A stray, you were taken in by Grace, the Close's resident cat lady, but it didn't take long for you to realise that our cat flap was never locked, there was always food down and we had a foxy lady-cat that you took a shine to (although she was never convinced of your charms, unlike us).

From then on, you would visit every day, for hours at a time, occasionally staying overnight and always, always never far from Ms Pepper.


Although you also liked to hang out with Sylvester, who actually liked you a lot more than she did:




You were a very handsome boy, and the best hunter I ever saw. You weren't a cuddlesome cat but occasionally you would deign to let me pick you up when I would be rewarded with tractor-like purrs. Twice you even jumped up onto my lap and settled down - an event so infrequent as to be remarkable.

You were never pushy and didn't bully anyone out of their food just because you fancied it - you always seemed grateful and appreciated a stroke. What none of us knew was that you had an abdominal tumour that slowly, but surely, grew until you could no longer eat.

Grace's favourite place in the whole wide world is her beautiful, flower-filled garden and that's where you now lie, under the trees near her bench so she can still talk to you.

I miss you, sleep well, D.