In loving memory of my cat and dear friend, Bairstow who died on 19th April 1987 in Stepney, East London in England aged eight years old.
Bairstow was abandoned as a kitten and on my trip to buy the papers on the morning of Saturday 20th April 1979, I saw this tiny black kitten sitting on the doorstep of a derelict house (two streets away from where I lived) looking hopelessly lost and forlorn and very alone. There was an opened tin of food next to him which he had been unable to eat as it was still solid and he was obviously starving. After making enquiries at the garage next door to where he had been left, I was told that he had been there for some time and if I wanted him "to take him" - I needed no second invitation and within minutes he was back home with me being fed and watered.
He settled in almost immediately with our two other cats, Baz and Boycott (with whom he became inseperable friends) and I named him Bairstow, after one of my all time favourite Yorkshire and England cricketers, David Bairstow.
Bairstow soon showed what a loving, affectionate little cat he was and you only had to touch him and he would be purring immediately. His idea of heaven was to be able to lay on your lap and be made a fuss of and he had the loudest purr of any cat I have ever known.
After obviously being starved and undernourished in the early part of his life, he never really grew to be that big and he was truly our "little boy" in every way.
Throughout his life he was always quite a nervous cat and never went outside the house very often, much prefering his home comforts to what lie outside. As has been mentioned, Boycott was his inseperable friend and whenever they were indoors or out, they were together which was always so touching to see.
Bairstow was such a gentle and loving cat that we used to say that he wanted to show us his affection each and every day to thank us for his "second chance" and as his gratitude for taking him in. There really was no need for him to do that as our love for Bairstow was more than reciprocated in kind and the pleasure he brought to our lives was immense in every way.
Sadly at the age of eight years old he contracted feline leukemia and with no hope of a recovery he had to be put to sleep (almost eight years to the day I found him, on 19th April 1987) which almost broke my heart coming as it did only two years after the death of Boycott in a tragic road accident.
Many years have passed now but I still miss him and think of him often and of what a lovely little fellow he was.
He is buried in the garden of my old house in Stepney, East London (my family home from 1914 to 1996) next to Boycott of course - inseperable to the end.
Rest in peace Bairstow, you live on in my heart forever and thank you for all the love, affection and fun you brought into our lives. I too will always love you.
Bairstow was abandoned as a kitten and on my trip to buy the papers on the morning of Saturday 20th April 1979, I saw this tiny black kitten sitting on the doorstep of a derelict house (two streets away from where I lived) looking hopelessly lost and forlorn and very alone. There was an opened tin of food next to him which he had been unable to eat as it was still solid and he was obviously starving. After making enquiries at the garage next door to where he had been left, I was told that he had been there for some time and if I wanted him "to take him" - I needed no second invitation and within minutes he was back home with me being fed and watered.
He settled in almost immediately with our two other cats, Baz and Boycott (with whom he became inseperable friends) and I named him Bairstow, after one of my all time favourite Yorkshire and England cricketers, David Bairstow.
Bairstow soon showed what a loving, affectionate little cat he was and you only had to touch him and he would be purring immediately. His idea of heaven was to be able to lay on your lap and be made a fuss of and he had the loudest purr of any cat I have ever known.
After obviously being starved and undernourished in the early part of his life, he never really grew to be that big and he was truly our "little boy" in every way.
Throughout his life he was always quite a nervous cat and never went outside the house very often, much prefering his home comforts to what lie outside. As has been mentioned, Boycott was his inseperable friend and whenever they were indoors or out, they were together which was always so touching to see.
Bairstow was such a gentle and loving cat that we used to say that he wanted to show us his affection each and every day to thank us for his "second chance" and as his gratitude for taking him in. There really was no need for him to do that as our love for Bairstow was more than reciprocated in kind and the pleasure he brought to our lives was immense in every way.
Sadly at the age of eight years old he contracted feline leukemia and with no hope of a recovery he had to be put to sleep (almost eight years to the day I found him, on 19th April 1987) which almost broke my heart coming as it did only two years after the death of Boycott in a tragic road accident.
Many years have passed now but I still miss him and think of him often and of what a lovely little fellow he was.
He is buried in the garden of my old house in Stepney, East London (my family home from 1914 to 1996) next to Boycott of course - inseperable to the end.
Rest in peace Bairstow, you live on in my heart forever and thank you for all the love, affection and fun you brought into our lives. I too will always love you.
In loving memory of my cat and dear friend, Bairstow who died on 19th April 1987 in Stepney, East London in England aged eight years old.
Bairstow was abandoned as a kitten and on my trip to buy the papers on the morning of Saturday 20th April 1979, I saw this tiny black kitten sitting on the doorstep of a derelict house (two streets away from where I lived) looking hopelessly lost and forlorn and very alone. There was an opened tin of food next to him which he had been unable to eat as it was still solid and he was obviously starving. After making enquiries at the garage next door to where he had been left, I was told that he had been there for some time and if I wanted him "to take him" - I needed no second invitation and within minutes he was back home with me being fed and watered.
He settled in almost immediately with our two other cats, Baz and Boycott (with whom he became inseperable friends) and I named him Bairstow, after one of my all time favourite Yorkshire and England cricketers, David Bairstow.
Bairstow soon showed what a loving, affectionate little cat he was and you only had to touch him and he would be purring immediately. His idea of heaven was to be able to lay on your lap and be made a fuss of and he had the loudest purr of any cat I have ever known.
After obviously being starved and undernourished in the early part of his life, he never really grew to be that big and he was truly our "little boy" in every way.
Throughout his life he was always quite a nervous cat and never went outside the house very often, much prefering his home comforts to what lie outside. As has been mentioned, Boycott was his inseperable friend and whenever they were indoors or out, they were together which was always so touching to see.
Bairstow was such a gentle and loving cat that we used to say that he wanted to show us his affection each and every day to thank us for his "second chance" and as his gratitude for taking him in. There really was no need for him to do that as our love for Bairstow was more than reciprocated in kind and the pleasure he brought to our lives was immense in every way.
Sadly at the age of eight years old he contracted feline leukemia and with no hope of a recovery he had to be put to sleep (almost eight years to the day I found him, on 19th April 1987) which almost broke my heart coming as it did only two years after the death of Boycott in a tragic road accident.
Many years have passed now but I still miss him and think of him often and of what a lovely little fellow he was.
He is buried in the garden of my old house in Stepney, East London (my family home from 1914 to 1996) next to Boycott of course - inseperable to the end.
Rest in peace Bairstow, you live on in my heart forever and thank you for all the love, affection and fun you brought into our lives. I too will always love you.
Bairstow was abandoned as a kitten and on my trip to buy the papers on the morning of Saturday 20th April 1979, I saw this tiny black kitten sitting on the doorstep of a derelict house (two streets away from where I lived) looking hopelessly lost and forlorn and very alone. There was an opened tin of food next to him which he had been unable to eat as it was still solid and he was obviously starving. After making enquiries at the garage next door to where he had been left, I was told that he had been there for some time and if I wanted him "to take him" - I needed no second invitation and within minutes he was back home with me being fed and watered.
He settled in almost immediately with our two other cats, Baz and Boycott (with whom he became inseperable friends) and I named him Bairstow, after one of my all time favourite Yorkshire and England cricketers, David Bairstow.
Bairstow soon showed what a loving, affectionate little cat he was and you only had to touch him and he would be purring immediately. His idea of heaven was to be able to lay on your lap and be made a fuss of and he had the loudest purr of any cat I have ever known.
After obviously being starved and undernourished in the early part of his life, he never really grew to be that big and he was truly our "little boy" in every way.
Throughout his life he was always quite a nervous cat and never went outside the house very often, much prefering his home comforts to what lie outside. As has been mentioned, Boycott was his inseperable friend and whenever they were indoors or out, they were together which was always so touching to see.
Bairstow was such a gentle and loving cat that we used to say that he wanted to show us his affection each and every day to thank us for his "second chance" and as his gratitude for taking him in. There really was no need for him to do that as our love for Bairstow was more than reciprocated in kind and the pleasure he brought to our lives was immense in every way.
Sadly at the age of eight years old he contracted feline leukemia and with no hope of a recovery he had to be put to sleep (almost eight years to the day I found him, on 19th April 1987) which almost broke my heart coming as it did only two years after the death of Boycott in a tragic road accident.
Many years have passed now but I still miss him and think of him often and of what a lovely little fellow he was.
He is buried in the garden of my old house in Stepney, East London (my family home from 1914 to 1996) next to Boycott of course - inseperable to the end.
Rest in peace Bairstow, you live on in my heart forever and thank you for all the love, affection and fun you brought into our lives. I too will always love you.
