Our pet insurance renewal is due and we found out in the renewal letter that we’ve still been paying for our beloved Charlie (on the left in the photo above!) who sadly was run over and passed away in May last year. We still have our special three legged “Mave Rave” Mavis, but Charlie is somewhere you need need insurance, unfortunately.
We were in India at the time and it was a horrible phonecall from the garden of a café in Ooty, Tamil Nadu, to sister in law Jen to find out the news. We’ll be forever grateful for the strength and willingness to help us showed in that situation. We’d have been lost without that support, including burying our little puss in the garden.
On the phone to the insurance folk, anyway, they were saying we can be reimbursed for the premiums we’ve been paying unnecessarily, (which is nice of them to offer) if we can prove when she died.
Well in theory we can. Both Charlie and Mavis were rescue cats from the RSPCA, where they routinely chip all cats going out to new homes (I believe).
A bit about our Mavis & Charlie…
Mavis & Charlie weren’t sisters, but they could have been. Both were brought in to RSPCA Southall, Middlesex, a day apart, both at age roughly 5-6 weeks. And they were both incredibly timid so the staff put them in together as roomies. They instantly bonded and became sisters in all but blood.
Mavis (then named Pennie by the staff), who is sitting on the sofa arm next to me helping me write (see picture -->) had been found in a greenhouse with a badly broken leg, so the RSPCA had had to amputate, leaving her with three beautiful legs. They didn’t know much else about her.
Charlie (then named Alfa), was found on the streets. They knew nothing about her but
thought she was maybe feral. That’d definitely explain a thing or 2!
When we went to see them they were hidden in a corner of their enclosure, on top of
The incredible RSPCA staff & volunteers…
The staff were so pleased when we said we wanted them as they knew these 2 weren’t suitable for most homes, with how timid they are, and being able to see how much we’d love them, which we have done to this day. For 4 months the brilliant volunteer staff had taken in, tended to, nursed back to health, spoken to, soothed, played with, fed, watered, and loved these 2 kittens so that they could eventually have a happy life elsewhere. Never quite knowing if they will ever get the chance of that happy life, if nobody can come forward to take them. How devastating would that be.
They also neuter / spay and microchip all animals that pass through and go to new homes. What an incredible service. This chipping enabled the council to find out who Charlie belonged to, get contact details, and arrange for us to go collect her. Without this we wouldn’t have known for sure what had happened to her, or been able to give her a little burial.
And, of course, our 2 weren’t the only ones. This is what the staff and volunteers at RSPCA do day in, day out. Giving up their time to help hundreds, thousands of animals that have been abused, ill-treated, or are otherwise in bad health, so that families like ours can love grow with the love of a couple of little fur-balls.
Looking at the @RSPCAofficial Twitter feed before writing this piece drives home what the staff and volunteers have to deal with all the time. Harrowing tales of animal abuse, images of the evidence, and having to put the pieces back together. All done with such love, dignity and empathy.
#PlugOfTheWeek…
So naturally, when I was thinking about who was going to be our #PlugOfTheWeek, there was only 1 place I could consider.
What a beautiful, loving organisation, filled with beautiful, loving people. And we need to remind ourselves that they’re a charity, relying on donations to survive. Please support your local RSPCA, consider a rescue pet if you’re thinking of adding to our family, and, if you can, donate to help this wonderful charity keep doing what they do; saving animals lives and building happy homes.
If you wish to, you can donate at https://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/donate/online
Thanks for reading!
M x