Possum.

I first met Possum while living in Auckland in 1997. She turned up at my flat, but she permanently squatted at a flat up the road. The following year I coincidentally moved into this flat, and when this household dissolved I took her with me. She was riddled with scabs from a flea allergy, and would curl up into a tight tight ball on my bed and wouldn't budge when poked. I took her to the vet to get cleared up and she was a different cat. She spent the next four years moving around Auckland, sleeping on the end of my bed (I trained her to only sleep on a blanket on the end - I forgot to mention I was severely allergic to her). In 2002 she moved south to Christchurch where she retired with my parents. Here she really thrived. But, she got gradually stiffer and slower, and skinnier. Mum and Dad decided last week that the time was right for her to go to the "cattery in the sky", so took her in to their local vet. They offered me the privilege, but I just don't think I could have done it.


Now she's in the vege patch, where she used to sit and watch the day pass.

Rest in peace Possum. The queen of the silent meow.