Today marks the three year anniversary of her departure from this world so it seems only fitting that I write an article in tribute to her.
Marbi came into my life, very unexpectedly, on January 5th 1996 - it was my 21st Birthday & she was the best present ever! I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never own a cat as the person I lived with back then was allergic to pets... Luckily the allergy was shortlived, as is often the case with house pets, & Marbi became part of my life :-)
Before coming to me Marbi was living as feral, taking refuge in the Britvic factory in Tamworth, Staffordshire where the staff used to feed her titbits whenever she was around. Ironically just a few months before I had applied for a job at the very same plant! All was well until it became apparent that Robins were nesting there & therefore the arrangement couldn't continue so the local Cat Protection League was called & Marbi, thought to be approx 2.5 years old, was taken away, checked over, spayed & put up for adoption... I have a lot to thank those Robins & Britvic staff for!
In the years that followed I moved about quite a bit, relocating 4 times in fact, but that never phased Marbi - she was always by my side, more like a dog than a cat in that respect, & as long as I was there she was fine - after the 2nd relocation I let her outside right away, she came back no problem, I never doubted she would - we were a team :-) She was a great traveller too, sharing car journeys with me 2 or 3 times a week for several years - I know that would be hell for most cats but not Marbi.
Marbi's finest moment came when she cured my short-sightedness... No, this isn't a typo or a moment of over active imagination on my part! In my early twenties I was prescribed eyeglasses & contact lenses - the sight of my right eye was only a fraction out, had both eyes been the same I wouldn't have needed these vision aids but unfortunately my left eye was worse... One morning Marbi woke me in her usually manner, padding my face to alert me it was breakfast time, she was persistant in this activity, not stopping until I had roused from slumber! On this occasion however, her paw made contact with my eye just as I opened it... Her claw had split my left eye lens! The result was perfect vision for the next two weeks - apparently the split lens had a similar effect to laser treatment, the surface of the eye being made flatter than before - & when fully healed, eyesight checks determined that the sight of my left eye no longer warranted a vision aid. Two years on and another eye test confirmed this was still the case :-) My baby girl had fixed me!
My fondest memories of Marbi are of her 'helping' me in the garden - during summer weekends we would spend whole days together - I would be weeding, planting, pruning, mowing - Marbi would be bounding around the lawn, pouncing on what I am convinced were imaginary insects, diving into bags of cuttings or just lazing around in the sun... Apart from when the mower was in use - I could never understand how she would chase a lawnmower around but run in terror from a vacuum cleaner!
Bedtime also provided quality Marbi moments - each night she would climb into bed wriggle down head first, place her head on my knee & her paws around my leg... So very cute & cosy :-)
November 2008 saw Marbi go off her food... She could be a fussy madam & as such I wasn't too concerned at first when she appeared to turn her nose up at the latest offerings. It soon became apparent however that something wasn't right. A trip to the emergency vets showed nothing out of the ordinary, they thought she was just feeling a little off & sent her home with an injection & some medicine. Back to the vets & after a day on a drip they sent her home again with instructions to return if she didn't eat overnight.
She had become so weak over the last few days that the usual bedtime routine of climbing into bed had stopped - she would sleep all night in the same spot beside me on the bed. When our final night together came both knew... Marbi pulled herself up & made her way towards me, slowly & with help she clambered into bed for a cuddle one last time - I will treasure that moment forever & ever.
Marbi fell asleep in my arms on 14th November 2008 after being diagnosed with fluid on the lungs which was too advanced to treat. I live with the guilt that if I'd realised something was wrong sooner then maybe she could have been saved & lived a few more years but I have to give myself a reality check - Marbi & I shared almost 13 fantastic years, she was loved, well cared for & adored - she was my little boo!
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| Marbi - July 1993 - Nov 2008 |
Photographs of her still adorn my walls & she will always be remembered as the cheeky little torty that she was :-)
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not a bad 21st prezzy then eh. and it was only cats i was alergic to.glad you looked after her so well.pets are like family realy.maybe i get one for your 40th.!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry you lost your Marbi. I had a cat for 17 years, I still miss her - and it has been a long time since she has been gone.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary Gee, I could never, ever replace her.
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