The Weed Eating Cat

Without Prejudice Apart from a tree climbing dog, Bonney, who died sadly of old age, ( a German Sheperd, aged 12. who was the best pet the family has ever had) There Was Nick,A.K.A. Nicholas James Hawkins,a feline of magnificent proportions also known as Satan by Alena, Dickonface by the Boys ( being black and white , with what looked like a dick and balls on his handsome face. Zach picked him from the litter, saying " I'll take the one with the dick on his face " From the moment Nicky came through the front door, he was Kyles. Kyle swooped him out of Zachs arms and took him to his room. That was it. No argument. Kyle being the oldest of seven boys certainly had sway over the rest. One time when Kyle was incarcerated for the second time ( dont ask) we ignored him that time as he hadnt learnt his lesson from the first time. Nick trying to pinch food from a frying pan on the stove set his whiskers alight. They were forever bent out of shape from then on. Kyle just happened to call from one of those dreary phone calls from jail. the phone call that starts with the mechanical voice stating " This is a call from Barwon or Sale or Geelong, wherever, You may accept the call or hang up now " Deb used to just hang up when it was Kyles father, Simon. Apple doesn't fall far from tree and all that. Kyle said, frantically, "Nicky could die from that" He didnt. But Kyle, 22, then, had just seen a guy stabbed in the face, in the next cell but one to his , so was perhaps a bit emotional. Nicky was King. He turned from a tiny scrap of a thing into a great big Alpha Male that took no quarter from any other animal, including, two German Sheperds that tried to bounce him. They lost. Nick was grumpy, greedy and disdainful and everone adored him. He would come to my unit after being fed in the main house and demand food. And I mean demand, food. I dont know how he did it ( I never caught him at it in 11 years) but he would pound, yes pound, on the door until let in. He would swipe bacon or ham out of your hand and if you were lucky you would get to keep one one of your fingers. Yvette had a trick where she would insert a finger deep into his paw and he would retract all his claws for her, never, ever, did it for me. I still have the claw marks to prove it. We never knew his real age We knew he was getting on in years but he was robust, healthy and still very active. Yvette could get him to play in the backyard with a long piece of grass that she would sway in front of him and he would pounce on it, chase it and eventually shred it to pieces. I could get him to roll on his back by stating " Whos a handsome boy then?" He slept on the couch until I went to bed and once I was settled would jump up next to me, settle and would not budge an inch, even if I tried to nudge him out of the way with my foot. He slept more and more as he aged. When Pee Wee Dee was staying here and renting out the lounge room, Nick would steal his weed out of his bowl. He thought at first it was someone pinching his " stash" but caught ick red handed or white pawed, crunching on it and was scaling the curtains at 2am in the morning. One day Nicky started vomiting a little in Kyles room. Kyle by then a man, and a fussy one ( no more incarcerations, thank God ) threw him out. Yvette did the same when he perked up in the hall. I took him in, feeling sorry for him. In February this year he was rushed to the Vets, barely moving. He couldnt even twitch his tail. He was put on a drip, kept overnight, given meds and allowed home. I was convinced he had been baited, as a lady neighbour had her staffy poisoned. For both of us it was over a thousand dollars to save both our pets lives. The vet told Kyle, Nick had feline aids, a condition quite common in cats, apparently. And something Kyle didnt tell us, was Nick also had kidney disease and would be lucky to live another six months. Nicholas James HAWKINS died in my arms, the day after Mothers Day. May 10th 2021. He died as he lived, quietly and with dignity. No sound, just died. I stroked his head and asked him not to die. I told him I loved him, and what a great cat he had been. Then I ran to get Yvette. We had his body cremated. His ashes are in an urn of silver decorated with his paw prints in gold. He is with Kyle.