RIP Solly

Solly was a lovely boy. His meow preceded him. Unfortunately he is no longer of this world and this post is dedicated to him.

Born in March, 1998, he was brought into a household of three other cats. He was tormented by them and tormenting to them. He loved plastic bags and belly rubs, cat toys and cotton buds. He made friends with the others eventually and had an extra special friend in Merly the cat (my housemate's).

We moved a number of different places over the years and Solly always found ways to make friends with the local neighbourhood cats and people. He was always vocal and had interesting stuff to say about his adventures. And adventures he had.

We moved to Hobart, Tasmania in 2000 and for the most part, Solly loved it. However, one of his adventures and life challenges was being hit by a car. I had been out and about and came home to be greeted by my next-door-neighbour who had taken him to the vet. Apparently he had been hit on the main road by a ute and left for dead. An elderly couple happened to be walking by (thanks to whoever you are!) and took it upon themselves to alert my neighbour.

He was at the vet for a week and I was advised that the best case scenario was that he would lose his tail, as he had a fractured pelvis. They weren't sure whether he could feel anything at his rear. I visited him every day and he always greeted me cheerfully, no matter the pain he was in. The vet said to me that it didn't look good and that I would just have to say the word and they would put him down. He couldn't pee on his own or poo, and they had to use a catheter and bladder massage to express him on a regular basis.

After that first week I took him home. There was no way I could have him put down. I cried and prayed (I'm not religious, but yes, I prayed) that he would recover. He could hardly walk. But eventually he got better and much to the vet's surprise and perplexion, he even got use of his tail back and no one was any the wiser.

About one and a half years later, I got sick (refer to previous posts on mental illness) and had to move back to Melbourne. Unfortunately I had to leave Solly behind as I was moving back with my parents and they already had two cats and so did I. As Winnie (my other beautiful cat) was the eldest and less adaptable, Solly was the one.

In leaving him behind, however, he had the best of best cat homes he could have had - living with my neighbour and friend, Allison. She is one of the most cat-loving people I know or have met and she sure did love him. I'm grateful to her for taking him on and I know they were close.

Sadly, in January of this year, Solly was yet again hit by a car and this time not so lucky. Apparently it was instant and he wouldn't have felt much. I missed him when he lived in Hobart and I in Melbourne, but I miss him even more now, knowing he's no longer alive.

Thanks Solly for having been a part of my life and I'll love you forever. RIP.

The following is Allison's contribution:

Solly died 8.30 pm on the 19th of December [2006], on Regent Street [Sandy Bay, Tasmania] by a young girl who was kind enough to collect his body for burial and then seek his owner out the next day. At first she went to the service station next door to put up a flyer about him, but they sent her to speak to me directly. She was very upset and I think a bit scared.

Solly's favourite food was Whitemeat Tuna in the Dine brand. His favourite interests were meowing, sleeping under the doona with his human in the late afternoon, flicking his tail, being loved and being cute. His favourite things were the old chair outside, the backyard over the road, and meowing, and meowing, and meowing.

His dislikes included loud music, diarrhea, and not getting his own way. Needless to say, he always got his own way (so there was never any loud music).

Solly was a connoisseur of water - I often observed drink from his water bowl in the kitchen, then move to his water bowl outside in the garden, and then go from blade of grass to blade of grass to lick the dew. Rain puddles were also considered a delicacy of the watery kind.

[Thanks Allison so much, for taking him on and taking such good care of him as I know you did. He had a good life. Hugs.]