A Sad Day

[Rob B]

I wrote this rhyme after we had to have our much loved old bruiser put to sleep after kidney failure ...

It was a dull and windy day
when Biscuit passed away
Did he really know
that he had to go

He usually makes a fuss
Growls and spits at us
And sheds a lot of hair
when we take him over there

Perhaps he was too sick
to give us lots of stick
Or perhaps, it was, he knew
what we had to do

He lay quietly on the table
To move, was hardly able
It happened really fast
and then he breathed his last

He'd had a good long life
and now he's free from strife
It was time to say goodbye
to a very special guy

Biscuit ... 1989? - 2011

[angieh]

A lovely tribute to an amazing ?22 year old boy. RIP Biscuit. So sorry for your loss Rob B, an empty place and a pawprint on your heart.

[Rob B]

Thanks for your welcome. I wrote this one a couple of years before Biscuit passed away. He was a huge long-haired ginger and was having difficulty keeping his coat in check, hence ...

When you have got
a bloody great knot
then you will get
a trip to the vet

I got shoved in a cage
despite my great age
Then a trip in a car
But not all that far

The vets I don't mind
'coz the nurses are kind
But I let out a shout
when they got clippers out

The noise that they make
makes my ears ache
But that horrible buzz
has got rid of my fuzz

Now my tummy is bare
'coz they shaved off my hair
but I really don't care
'coz there's no knots left there

[angieh]

That's lovely and full of (I'm sure) cat humour!

[fecto's mum]

Aww, love the poems.

[Rob B]

Thank you all for your kind comments. I wrote this one as a sort of follow up to first Biscuit one. He was a stray kitten of no more than 6-8 months when he found us. Despite trying we never found his owner ...

BISCUIT REMEMBERED

I remember a coat of spun gold
when he first came in from the cold
A tiny bundle of fun
His life had hardly begun

I remember his silent mieow
I don't think he ever learned how
But he certainly knew how to growl
and he certainly knew how to howl

I remember the passage of time
as he grew into his prime
A glorious marmalade cat
Solid with no sign of fat

I remember that as he grew old
how his coat had faded from gold
to a pale and russety hue
when his life was finally through

And of course I'll never forget
that terrible time at the vet
when we gave him release from his pain
Biscuit's memory will always remain

[Rob B]

This is a picture of Biscuit in the summer before he passed away ...

[Rob B]

This one was written when I was in a more upbeat (and fanciful) mood. Cherry was another cat who we also had for nearly twenty years. She contracted diabetes and we kept her well for two years with twice daily insulin injections and special food. sadly we had to have her put to sleep the year before Biscuit when her condition got beyond control. Cherry, a little black cat was named after one of Derek Tangye's cats who featured in his autobiographical series of books about his flower farm on the cliffs near Lamorna in south-west Cornwall - 'The Minack Chronicles' ...

As soon as I closed my eyes
I awoke to a huge surprise
I felt so fit and so strong
as though nothing had ever gone wrong

That pain I once felt I now lack
and the spring in my step has come back
From my aches I am totally free
now the sunlight is shining on me

My eyesight is now crystal clear
and the slightest small noise I can hear
I detect the faint buzzing of bees
and see the birds in the trees

I was sorry that I had to go
and I know that they'll both miss me so
but I'm sure that they know they were right
coz I'm now in the land of warm light

And who's that I see over there
a beautiful cat with black hair
It's Cherry, my friend through the years
She's with me in heaven, it appears

[yola]

What beautiful words. Quite brought a lump to my throat; especially the last poem.