Mitzi is our beautiful little white and tabby cat. We rescued her from a life of abuse and fear, she had kittens when little more than a kitten herself. We got her from the Cat Protection League and took her home to love her. She spent most of the time behind the settee, only coming out to gulp down her food, crouching on the floor. She would cringe when my husband had his shoes on, and was scared of the TV, in fact scared of everything. With our love she gradually came to trust us, and was so lovable and sweet. She loved to lay in the garden under her umbrella, or sit on my knee. She would come for walks with me, strolling by my side like a little dog! Everyone knew her and loved her.She would sit in the window, "chattering" to the birds! When I turned the tap on one day, she popped her head underneath and had a drink, and from then on she would not drink from her bowl. She would meow to me, and I had to lift her up to have a drink! Sometimes she would get distracted and gaze out of the window at the birds, and I would have to remind her we were on a water saving meter, but of course, we had to do things in Mitzi's time, nor ours!

I remember one day when we were in the front garden together, Mitzi was enjoying the sun whilst I was weeding, when suddenly a bull terrier came by. Mitzi suddenly shot up and chased it down the hill, and back it raced with Mitzi in pursuit. It hid behind it's owner's legs and Mitzi was hissing and spitting and swiping at it. The owner put it on the leash and apologised! Mitzi marched back to her "nest" in the sun, tail in the air! I am sure if she could, she would have dusted off her paws and said "That taught him, he was in my territory"

Her health was never brilliant, she had ear, teeth and eye problems, but they cleared up and she was happy. During her ear infection, she was on a high dose of steroids, and she developed transient Diabetes, and we had to give her insulin injections every day. This continued for about three months and then her blood sugar was back to normal. She was such a good little girl when we had to do this. Then she developed inflammatory bowel disease and was on steroids for three years. They were not such a high dose as before, but I had to moniter her sugar level. (that was very stressful when it went up, but we did not have to give her injections again thank goodness. The medication kept her well and happy. The vet said it was because of her bad start in life. Her health deteriorated and despite our care and love, we knew it was time to make that awful decision. I was with her and held her and talked to her until she drifted into her last sleep. I couldn't see her well for the tears in my eyes. She is now at home with us, sleeping in her favourite spot in the garden. The house is empty without her, I have photos of her and our wonderful memories. We loved our other cats so much , but Mitzi was so special because she was so helpless and vulnerable. Bless you Mitzi - our little "treasure bird" for giving us so much happiness, and enjoy your rest with your "Big Sisters". We will never forget you.