Gypsy was bred by my good friend Audrey who used to breed colourpoint Persians. Gyps was sold to another breeder (who Aud knew quite well) as a kitten, as part of a breeding programme, but she had major problems with the pregnancy and had to have an emergency caesarean, and was spayed at the same time.
Audrey phoned me one day and said that this other breeder (I’ve shortened this to OB to save typing!) wanted to rehome one of her cats (Honey) and was I interested. She had also mentioned Gypsy before (she kept in touch with the OB and visited her from time to time) and told me about the caesarean and that this OB might want to rehome Gyps too. There was something about the way Aud talked about Gypsy that made me want her without even setting eyes on her! Anyway, Aud talked to the OB about rehoming Gyps as well as Honey with me, but she didn’t think she could part with her. Well I said I would have Honey and I had a few phone conversations with the OB and she’d mentioned Gypsy, saying she wasn’t sure whether to let her go too, I said I’d be happy to have her if she did decide. Secretly I really, really wanted her – but I can’t really explain why I felt so strongly about it.
She arranged to bring Honey over to me – but the day before, she rang and said she wouldn’t be able to drive over, could I come and collect her – oh, and by the way, could I take Gypsy too! Bearing in mind I had never met either of these cats, I was just over the moon that she’d agreed to let Gypsy come too. I phoned Aud and told her Gypsy was coming, and she was over the moon too! I wanted to get there as fast as I could – but true to form I got completely lost and was desperately worried that she would have changed her mind about Gyps by the time I got there! Anyway, I got there and met Honey who was a very pretty, but very shy, lilac point, sitting on her own away from the other cats, then this gorgeous blue-cream point literally bounced into the room and it was love at first sight, my Gypsy.
Gypsy was so confident and outgoing, yet so gentle and loving – huge personality, she loved people, and would greet every visitor at the door, ready to sit on their laps as soon as they’d sat down (sometimes even before!) She loved being carried around and would lie upside down in my arms, perfectly content for hours, and she used to love sleeping right under the duvet snuggled up to me. About 6 months after she came to live with me she went down with cat flu – so badly I thought I might lose her, she was desperately ill, she wouldn’t eat so I had to syringe feed her, and slowly she started to respond to treatment, until she was back to her normal self and eating properly again. Sadly this left her with recurring respiratory problems although she had long periods of being completely well and the recurrences got less frequent and less severe.
Then in March last year she started sneezing again, but this had happened before and after a few days she’d be fine, so I didn’t rush to the vets and anyway her appetite was good and she seemed her normal bouncy self. On Tuesday 8th April she started coughing, so I took her to the vets and she was given a course of antibiotics, unfortunately these suppressed her appetite and in any case didn’t appear to be working. On the following Monday 14th I took her back to the vets and was given a different antibiotic, and some tablets to help her coughing. On the Tuesday morning about half an hour after I’d given her one of her tablets I noticed she was open mouth breathing, so immediately rushed her back to the vet, who though she might have pneumonia. She was put straight into an oxygen tent and I had to leave her there. I was worried of course, but I still believed she would get better, it was just going to take a bit longer. My vet phoned me the morning of Wednesday 16th of April, when I heard her voice I was convinced she was going to tell me Gypsy had improved and I could bring her home, maybe that day – her actual words were, I’m sorry, Gypsy hasn’t improved at all, she can’t breath properly out of the oxygen tent and is in a lot of distress, I think we should put her to sleep. I couldn’t think straight, I managed to say I want to come and be with her (still thinking when I saw the vet it wouldn’t be true that there was nothing could be done for Gyps) I don’t actually remember driving down there, its not far, just a 10 minute drive away, but it seemed like hours.
When my vet took me in to see her I was devastated, because I knew from the way she looked and sounded (she was crying in distress), it was really true, she wasn’t going to make it. That cry, so harrowing, I’m remembering it all so vividly like it was yesterday. I was only able to hold her, stoke her for a few minutes because she was getting more distressed when the oxygen tent door was open, I talked to her, I don’t know if she knew I was there, I cling to the hope that she did. I was with her when the vet put her to sleep,
I loved everything about Gypsy, she was beautiful to look at and beautiful on the inside too – my special girl who I had a special bond with. So this is my tribute to her for all to see, because my girl just loved to be the centre of attention! I have a little photo on the wall that Audrey gave me of my Sam, who is 10, as a kitten, before he came to live with me; he’s pictured with two other kittens. Shortly after I adopted Gypsy, Audrey came to visit and I asked her who the other kittens were in the photo, oh she said, well that one is your Gypsy as a kitten – all those years I’d had a pic of her on the wall, not knowing who she was and that one day she would actually come and live with me. Her pedigree name was Snushee Naughty But Nice – it suited her. She was 7 years old when she came to live with me, she wasn’t quite 10 when I lost her.
I miss Gypsy every day.
This is when she first came to live with me
Loved to be snuggled up in my bed!
A very typical Gypsy pose! Only taken in March 2008, just a month before she died, hard to believe that she would become so seriously ill looking at this picture
My sweet girl
