Oatmeal was a cat with big paws, big body, big personality and short legs, which created a distinctive fast drum-roll on our wooden floors when he came jogging in. Even in the last few years when his health was poor and one leg refused to work properly, you could hear the determined patter of tap-tap-tap-tick, tap-tap-tap-tick.
A few weeks back, he had one of his downturns and stopped eating, which took a determined effort and a week or more of patience on our part before he resumed and all was well. However this time the upturn lasted less than a week and this morning we had to take that final decision.
After more than eight years of those thunderous paws, we have some unwelcome silence in the house.
Mark-Huntley-James 