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His Nibbs, we assume, comes from one of the nearby properties, possibly the horse stable. He’s been seen roaming over that way.
He must have heard on the grapevine that snacks could be cajoled from chez-nous.
This, I should point out was not our doing.
It was the doing of the previous residents.
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No sooner had we moved in than the neighbour’s cat turned up, obviously expecting to be invited in.
Pancho’s face appeared regularly in a window and once we had settled in and determined that our 13 cats would not be perturbed, we allowed the boy to enter, then watched with amusement as he navigated the house.
“I see you’ve changed things in here!” he said.
We became very fond of Pancho, but he was a naughty boy with killer instincts. Birds and chipmunks were not safe when he was around.
So when his family moved away, we were sad to see him go but also rather relieved.
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His Nibbs began visiting at the end of last year.
“Thought I’d introduce myself!”
He always acted so pleased to see us, chattering madly as he ran up to butt his head against a leg.
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Soon he was coming and going regularly.
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Nobody minded.
Dee Dee calls him “Stinky Boy-cat” but I think she secretly admires him.
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Lily watched nervously as the boys came face to face the first time, but they seemed to settle into a sort of alliance. We saw them often sitting together under the pine tree by the garage.
Maybe Toby was sharing his old-boy wisdom.
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When the weather was bad, Nibbs enjoyed an afternoon on the sofa.
But he never outstayed his welcome.
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He even made acquaintance with shy Sophia
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Then in late Spring, Nibbs was notable by his absence.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Sometimes before, he might have taken a week or so off, visiting elsewhere one supposes.
But when many weeks had gone by we thought perhaps he’d gone, permanently.
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We were so pleased when the boy suddenly reappeared one afternoon but he was not a happy cat.
He was hissy and out-of-sorts and was not interested in being petted.
He accepted a meal and went off grumbling.
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Clearly something had happened, but we could only guess what it may have been.
Maybe he had been sick and kept in, quarantined. A cat used to roaming would hate that.
Bit by bit, though, his angst wore off and Nibbs was more-or-less his old self.
Then he did get sick. His third eyelids were very pronounced.
Immediately we worried that he might be infectious, so we had to prevent contact with our small gang.
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Nibbs had not yet wanted to come inside again, so that was easy, but our little darlings like to take daily walks.
We decided we would keep them in till Nibbs recovered. And that decision lasted until one of the gang demanded to be let out.
So then we were supposed to “keep watch”.
Not having eyes in the back of our heads, this wasn’t a very good plan since you never know from which direction the boy might arrive.
During this period, I did quite a bit of fretting and muttering.
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Apart from anything else, we were concerned about Nibbs. His appetite and energy seemed unchanged so he apparently did not feel ill, but his third eyelids remained prominent.
My belief that Nibbs’ long absence might have been due to being kept in during an illness was clearly not the case or he would have been kept in now, surely?
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As we worried both for the welfare of our own cats and for Nibbs, suddenly we lost our Lucy.
At the same time we sensed that our two old-timers were approaching their end and it was hard to focus on anything else.
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We were up on the hill one early November afternoon by the 3 graves, when Nibbs came sauntering up.
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Almost as if he’d come to pay his respects to his old buddy Toby, Lucy and Penny.
When we had tried before, to get a look at Nibbs’ eyes, he had been very squirmy, but this day he was more relaxed.
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Grant played with him.
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It looked to us as if Nibbs was finally cured of whatever it was he had been afflicted with, which was a very great relief.
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“Welcome back, Nibbs!”
He still gets just a bit hissy if he thinks we won’t open the door to let him out which is bound to indicate that he was held against his wishes, all that time.
He’s not our cat. But if he comes to see us, he’ll always be welcome.
Just these past two days…there has been another cat around, a black and white one of unknown origin, very nervous…
I love reading your stories about Nibbs…..the pictures are precious!
So happy that he appears to be well!
Excited to hear of another “friend ” coming by…….
Thank you 😊 💓
Catherine
His Nibbs seems to me to really be your cat. He may visit elsewhere, but he finds care, respect, and companionship with you. They sense the best company to keep.
Enjoy tomorrow, Carolyn. Whatever you do, and however you celebrate.
Best wishes, Pete.
Cats – they pass the word. There’s never just the one.
Now that was a nice summary of His Nibbs’ visits to you this year. I like that he may have come to pay his respects to Toby, Lucy and Penny … what a lovely thing to say.