Thomas was an enigma. He would turn-up in the mornings, settle down on his preferred sofa, and snooze the day away in the comfort of our home.
Where he came from, we had no idea. If he was someone's beloved pet, we also had no idea. Maybe he was a homeless alley cat; we really didn't know. All we knew was that he had discovered our cat flap (we had no cat at the time), and used our house as a free daytime hotel.
We called him Thomas, rather predictably, because he was ginger and male. He was quite friendly (when awake), and presumably preferred us to his actual owners (if indeed he had any).
As he was a good sitter (sleeper) he was fun to draw and paint, and he appeared in several paintings and drawings. Here he is (below) in my painting 'Après la Fête', whilst it was still being worked on in my studio.
I have always liked cats, and was brought-up with them rather than dogs. We always had a cat around. They looked after the mouse and rat population that lived around our chicken, bantam, and duck runs at the far end of the garden.
We only ever had two types of cat; black and tabby. The black ones were always called 'blackie' (whilst such names were still allowed), and the tabbies were always called 'tiddles'. Not unlike my aunt who lived nearby, who's dogs were all called 'rover'. Not bothering with new names seemed to run in the family.
We haven't had a cat since Freddie died back in 2018, and I can't see us having another one. I miss having one around. I like their haughty 'holier than thou' attitude towards humans. Another one like Thomas would be good. He'd come to see us, then go home again at night. Perfect.
My brother's cat Felix used to walk up with him to work each morning at 7 and spend the day with my mother in the farmhouse. At the end of the day he would walk home again with my brother.
ReplyDeleteWe have a neighbour in France who had both a cat and a goose that would go for walks with her.
DeleteMy cats walk with me. I just stand in the garden and call and they all appear and we set off together.
DeleteI've just been talking to the two black cats from next door, they are both very friendly. One (Panda) is too friendly, and someone recently took her to Hove where, luckily she was later found wandering the streets.
DeleteMy grandfather had a black and white cat named Tom Dooley who would walk the rows of his garden alongside him while he worked!
DeleteMy first cat used to come with me when I walked " round the block" on our quiet estate in Morpeth to get my first born to sleep in his pram. Years later, much further south ,( at my son's wedding to his now ex wife), I discovered that the ex's uncle used to see a lady with a pram being followed by a cat!! Small world.
ReplyDeleteFreddie used to come a short way with us when he was small, but he soon stopped.
DeleteThe ginger cat portrait is delightful. We have many gingers around here but they're all fierce toms. I wouldn't want one in the house.
ReplyDeleteThey're probably feral cats, which never make friendly pets. Best left alone.
DeleteOh, I have just tamed a feral ginger! Took months.
DeleteWe had a ginger tom, who spent most of his days sleeping on next doors sofa, when we were at work, he had the best life.
ReplyDeleteDid you live in Brighton?
DeleteYou need another lovely ginger kitty. Cats enrich your life.
DeleteTrue, we would love to have another but our lives are a bit nomadic these days.
DeleteSome say that the world is divided in two - with cat lovers over here and dog lovers over there. I have always been one of the former but you seem to have a foot in both camps. If you acquired another cat now, you would probably need to be a hundred years old to witness its passing.
ReplyDeleteI think we shall remain cat-less, unless one just turned up. It wouldn't be turned away.
DeleteI love cats too Cro - I have always had cats and dogs but now, living near a busy road (cat miight get runover) (dog needs walks which I can no longer do) I am animal-less - I miss them.
ReplyDeleteI would hate to be without a dog. I love dogs, and would feel a bit lost without one.
DeleteSounds like a nice place to spend the afternoon, especially if there was a warm sunny spot by the window.
ReplyDeleteI once found a very small kitten on my front door step. I never found out how the kitten got there. Sammy was a calico and I will always have fond memories of her.
ReplyDeleteOver the years I've had lots of strays turn-up. Mostly they just moved on after a while, otherwise someone came to collect them as the result of my advertising.
DeleteYour cat vibes are out there. One will show up eventually, maybe a charming gray tiger cat.
ReplyDeleteThat would be perfect, although now that we've re-figured the kitchen/dining room, we no longer have a cat flap. I don't know how a cat would survive here now.
DeleteWhen I was young, about five and six, we had a ginger cat named Ginger, he used to sleep in a sunny patch of the yard curled up next to our dog, Ace, who was also asleep with our Galah (named Cocky) sleeping on his shoulders. Years later a series of tabbies all named Sam, now I have Lola and before her, Angel. My sister's dogs have all been named Barker.
ReplyDeleteI like your drawing and the cat in the painting looks good too.
For years I tried to get Freddie and one of our dogs to like each other. I eventually did get them to lie down within a few feet of each other, but never to curl-up together.
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