Kitty was a white Siamese cat who seemed to have a mind of her own. In fact she went so far and even to the point where she thwarted death. Kitty was born in Namibia and even during her transit to the Free State she fought tooth and nail, literally, to remain in the land of her birth.
She was transported in a bird cage next door to a cage with birds in and all inside a station wagon. She spent much of my time and that of the birds picking a fight. Eventually after an arduous 2200km of cat fight we reached our destination.
Kitty was unloaded first and locked up in the bathroom of the new house. She would slink up and down growling like a lion. Hating the world and hissing should anyone enter her abode. Kitty was forlorn. After some weeks of pampering and talking nicely kitty was prepared to enter the great foreign world. She refused to leave the house and sat sulking on the window sill day in and day out.
Eventually the great day came when kitty decided to shrug off her despondency and take the world on, on its own terms. That night kitty had her first Free State cat fight and by her appearance and snotty mood seems she lost it.
And so kitty went about her business, usually in a bad mood and sorting out the felines in the neighbourhood. In that area we had the normal motorcycle races after hours and until the sun set.While at the supper table a few bikes passed and then we heard a bang, not too serious and later kitty came meowing at the door. Kitty had been hit by a bike and her one eye was hanging out on a thread. She was taken to an SPCA clinic and we were told the clinic would inform us when it was time to collect the cat.
Some days later the wife was becoming concerned about the cat and phoned the SPCA and was told the cat had died under the narcosis. My wife was shattered, the cat was like a family member and just as stroppy as the other kids.
She bought a baby coffin for the cat and took it to the SPCA. The body of the cat was placed into the coffin and nailed closed. Back at home a hole was dug in the back yard and so Kitty was interred. It took some time to become accustomed to the absence of the cat, almost like a family member.
One afternoon I arrived home later than usual to find the wife in a state of shock and kitty parked on the bed with both eyes in shape. Kitty was a white Siamese cat. Next day the coffin was disinterred and opened. The decomposed body of a black cat was inside. We never knew what had actually taken place at the SPCA and never went so far as to question the staff. We assumed it was simply a case of a displaced cat.
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