In memory of Tinkerbelle

I adopted Tinkerbelle from Cats Protection in late Autumn 2012. I went to see her at her temporary residence where she was being looked after by a lady who worked or volunteered for the charity. From the moment she crawled out from underneath the chest of drawers she was hiding under I knew we were going to be lifelong friends. When looking to adopt a cat I had to find an indoor cat as I lived in a flat and lucky for me, Tinkerbelle just happened to be available. After a brief settling in period she soon made herself at home and we spent lots of time together in the flat until October 2018 when we both moved in with my partner Nikki and her cat Jinx. Tinks & Jinx (that got confusing real quick!) didn't get off to the best of starts being two mature females used to their own space but soon learned to tolerate each other. Another great thing was we were able to gradually introduce tinker to a garden. She'd never properly ventured outside before but after a couple of tentative attempts, she was soon exploring her new habitat and even coming and going by herself via the cat flap. If there's one thing I'm grateful above anything else it's that I was able to let her get out into the garden whenever she wanted. She really grew to love it! We lost Tinkerbelle at 09:45 on Saturday 27th June. She had had a Stroke on the Thursday but after some blood tests that day and on the Friday, the Vet was pleased with her improvements. Unfortunately in the early hours of Saturday she went downhill. I'd spent the whole night keeping my eye on her but we knew she was very unwell so after rushing her back to the Vet, we made the heartbreaking decision to put her to sleep. I've cried every day since then and we miss her so much. Good night my fluffy, cheeky, chatty and loving companion. We will always love you! Steve, Nikki, Val & Jinx.

by Steven Hill