My beloved Paddy turned 18 last week. He was a Valentine’s Day present from my then-husband just after I arrived in Sweden.
He has been really accident prone. Run over twice, all four legs broken, tumours, eye infections, attacked by a fox, pecked by crows, you name it! But he has triumphed through it all. He, like many senior cats, suffers from thyroid problems, but he is medicated and has house calls from the vet every six weeks.
He was an outside cat until his 24th emergency trip to the vet, but now he is happy to be an inside cat. He didn’t really even mind. I think he knew it was time.
I love this boy. He purrs so loud he was once broadcast over the police radio!
Paddy was also scouted for a television ad when a talent agent saw him shopping for cat food with me at the supermarket (he used to walk to heel like a dog). Pads sailed through all the rehearsals like a star. When it came to the real thing though, he would not take direction. In the end, the entire cast and crew were shoo’ed away by the director who asked for a closed set. But Pads had had enough and my dreams of him supporting me financially via his film career were dashed!