Gites in Loire-Atlantique, Frankreich zu mieten

It is with great sadness that I write this as all those who met our cat Simba loved him as much as we did and he has left us.   Perhaps this is not what is expected on a holiday website blog but it is a part of us and what we are about and many of our guests will remember  him. 

Simba was diagnosed with diabetes last December, unfortunately the vet thought that at 17 any treatment would not really prolong his life enough to make it worthwhile and I agreed.   I did a little online research and was horrified to learn that the main culprit in the dramatic rise of feline diabetes  was dried cat food.  It contains 60%+ cereal which is certainly not a part of any cat’s normal natural diet – I have yet to see any cat enjoying a sandwich yet this is being sold as an optimum food for cats.  Although lengthy, this article makes hair raising reading http://www.felinediabetes.com/hodgkinsarticle.htm , but don’t take just one article’s word for it, google ‘feline diabetes’ yourself and see what comes up. 

Although I immediately took both Simba & Munchkin off dried food, for Simba it was just too late, he perked up a bit and went into remission for about 6 – 8 weeks but then started deteriorating rapidly, losing his mobility, balance and experienced huge weight loss so I made the hardest decision of my life and called the vet to come and put him to sleep.  He passed away peacefully in my arms at 10.30 on Wednesday morning and I miss him so much. 

He came into our lives in 1994 while we still lived in Jeddah, for years my youngest son Mish begged me for a cat but as I always felt transient there and knew of all the pets dumped by returning ex-pats, I resisted his pleas until totally out of character, I wondered into the pet section of a supermarket.   Happily I noticed that all the cages looked empty but as I turned to leave I was pinned to the spot by an enormous pair of orange owl like eyes gazing at me through the bars of one cage.   It was love at first sight and wild horses wouldn’t have dragged me away without him so I bought this Persian cross male kitten and made my son very happy.   I was not so happy as the first thing Simba gave me was ring worm but pretty soon he was a happy healthy cat who loved draping himself around my neck and (not a lot of people know this) developed a passion for nibbling my ear lobes. 

Unfortunately even the best laid plans don’t work out and I found myself leaving Jeddah and starting over alone with my sons in the UK,  the boys went off to the States on holiday with their father and flew back direct to England, I flew the cheapest way possible via several grotty airports & airlines – Simba flew BA direct to Heathrow, well I couldn’t risk him being neglected between flights could I?   I had arranged a quarantine cattery to collect him and dutifully visited regularly during his incarceration.  

Finally the great day arrived in January when I went to collect him and bring him home to Bognor Regis.  As he had always been a house cat – the streets of Jeddah not being very  hygienic or pleasant, I planned to keep him in until the weather warmed up and then slowly introduce him under supervision to our back garden  and it would have worked too had not a very dear friend (yes still) been a smoker at the time and left the kitchen door open after a quick puff. 

Simba was AWOL for 3 weeks and I posted ‘Missing’ notes on just about every lamp post in the area, appealed on the local radio and dropped leaflets house to house – all to no avail.  Then one day our neighbour greeted me in great excitement saying he’d locked Simba in our shed after seeing him in our garden – and what a mess he was.   A tangled heap of fur, very sorry for himself but so glad to be back.  He was a changed character after that, much more sociable and affectionate.  

His next challenge was when I decided to live in France, as I was going to stay with Ian at his cottage while looking for my own place, we decided the best home for Simba would be in Plymouth with Mish where he attended Uni (Mish not Simba – he was a clever cat but there are limits).   After getting used to being feted by all of Mish’s student friends and returning after another 2 week walkabout, about which I wasn’t told until after he’d returned; all went smoothly and he continued his pampered pet life. 

Finally the day came when Mish finished uni and I’d finished the gites so Simba had to come over to France.   I managed to find some lovely guests who were coming on holiday to us with Condor – the only Ferry line that didn’t ask for a Pet passport on a one way ticket and we were reunited once again.

I would like to think Simba spent a happy retirement with us in France, he never went walkabout here but loved sitting in the garden surveying his territory and I buried him in his favourite spot.  It will be a long time before I stop ‘seeing’ him around here, and after loving him for 17 years a long time before I stop missing him.     

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