Farewell Pepper

I just wanted to write a quick post about the very sad passing of little Pepper, my sister and brother-in-law's much adored cat.

Being a rescue cat of uncertain background, Pepper had always had somewhat indifferent health, but it was still a great shock when an emergency visit to the vet's over breathing difficulties turned out to be incurable cancer.

And so last night, after many hugs and kisses and pats and crying, little Pepper was put to sleep.

As anyone who owns or has anything to do with cats can attest, they're idiosyncratic little creatures, with very distinct personalities. This was always especially evident with Pepper, who always considered herself to be every bit as much of a person as the bipeds - indeed, in the Venn diagram of life Pepper would no doubt have considered there to be far more intersection between the Pepper circle and humans than cats.

She always graciously accepted her role in life as the centre of everyone's focus, cordially receiving all her well wishers, and if she ever got a little imperious - well, surely this was because humans are sometimes bafflingly slow to get one's bickies?

There are many things about Pepper that everyone who knew her will remember - from the way her disproportionately small butt and tail used to look as she walked, to the insistent meows whenever anyone so much as glanced in the direction of the kitchen ("Ah, surely you are going to give me food now?"), to the eternally shining optimism which she time after time attempted to eat cravers from empty hands held out ("Ah, surely you are going to give me a craver now?"), but my special favourites are the way she used to look up at her dad when he was carrying her in the special (and peculiar) fashion that only a cat like Pepper could ever consider comfortable - completely content to sit, but just wanting to look at him; and the way she delicately made her way through all her admirers, being picked up and made much of, the night a houseful of people stopped by to see her that coincidentally happened to be around the same time as her dad's 30th birthday.

A very striking girl with huge, bright green eyes, unusual silver/chocolate/apricot calico colouring and a ridiculously outgoing personality, she will be much missed.