TUSHTOTS

 an officer and a gentleman

31st July 2009

On 31 July 2009, under the very kind and gentle supervision of Ben at Park Street Veterinary Centre, Stafford, Tushtots passed away.

Tushtots, a tabby Persian cat, arrived at Tom Cat Towers on 16 April 2001 after being catnapped from his owner for a bottle of champagne! He had previously been rehomed from a cat charity having had all his fur shaved off, but his owner neglected to groom him and his fur became a mass of knots and felts, he hadn’t been properly fed and was skeletal. He had been sneaking into other cats homes to steal their food. He was about to be put down because he was considered a nuisance.

He was shaved again and began to enjoy life with his new ‘brother’ Willi Whizkas, a Maine coon cat. Tushtots became the key to writing tales of derring-do and a book ‘Tall Tales and Lost Lives’, was published in 2005. The two cats were the best of friends, never a paw was raised in anger, or a growl uttered from their lips. Willi would often go to Tushtots to be licked between his ears to comfort him.

His own life story ‘Tushtots from the gutter to glittering global success’ appeared on websites and in magazines and he began to receive fan mail and presents from all over the world, to which he replied as he was a very well-mannered, gentlemanly sort of a cat. He also had visits from readers of the book, all keen to have their picture taken with Tushtots. Being a very vocal cat he was interviewed on American Radio a couple of times where he chirruped and meowed away making his thoughts known to listeners.

He managed to train his humans to turn water on in sinks and bath tubs whenever he required a drink. The local deli would enquire after him as they put up bag of sliced ham and chicken scraps for him. His absolute favourite was a tin of tuna followed by custard!

Cat nip was always a firm favourite and became a ‘controlled drug’ at Tom Cat Towers where his use was restricted to playtimes as he would drool over, then destroy Culpeper catnip mice.

He utterly loved his female human, Carol, and would supervise her 24 hours a day, even at bath-time. He very generously allowed her a small corner of the double bed where he would snore, chunter and snoozle his way through the night. He purred at a touch and would talk away to her for hours. Carol said that Tushtots was her heart and loved him beyond diamonds; they were truly made for each other. When cuddled and sniffed he smelt like an old teddy-bear, a comforting combination of cinnamon and vanilla. Carol joked that they should bottle it and sell it.

Following a road accident in 2001 it was apparent that he had the road sense of a squashed hedgehog, so Tushtots was only allowed out on a harness and lead where he would walk up and down First Avenue greeting neighbours with a cheerful ‘meow’ and having a bemused smirk on his whiskers at dogs’ reactions to seeing a cat on a lead.

Then in September 2007 after he fell off a kitchen work top and injured his hip, Tushtots was diagnosed with renal failure. He was not happy with his dietary changes and would snaffle his brother cat kibbles at every opportunity. He started to drink water from the spout of a silver teapot as he sat in the kitchen sink watching his birds in his garden.

He was cremated and his ashes scattered to the winds. Some of his fur will be buried in his silver teapot within the grounds of Tom Cat Towers and a plaque placed on it.

Tom Cat Towers is silent and empty without him. His humans are devastated at his loss and Willi Whizkas keeps looking for him. Tushtots was a gift from heaven. Clearly the angels wanted him back again!!


For more information about Willi Whizkas and Tushtots' stories, please click here:

http://www.thedailymews.com/Williwhizkas/introwilliwhizkas.htm

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