Spike - 6 January 1991 to 6 July 2007
In my dreams early this morning Spike came to see me. He walked with determination; he didn’t look at me or call me because he knew that when I saw him I would know it is time to write about this beautiful cat.
When I chose him all I knew about Spike, as he was to become, was what the pet-shop assistant had been told by the owner. He said that "all the kittens have a lovely nature". The owner left his phone number in case anyone purchasing a kitten wanted more information about their origin but, I never called, as Spike was not to be my cat or so I thought.
Spike was bought by myself and another friend Joy for another friend Lynn who was to move into her own house and was upset that she had to leave her cat behind with her family. As it turned out, there was a hitch and she didn't move in straight away. Joy and I bought her another cat (Casper 1991 to 29 January 2009) when she did eventually move in and Spike stayed with me.
As far as I know he was 97% Persian – I am not sure what the other 3% was! He was really soft and silky on his tummy and his tummy fur tended to be dark smokey-grey mixed with chocolate brown. It was wavy like it had been permed. The rest of him was smokey grey. In Winter, he had a full lion-mane and along his tail was a shawl of grey fur. When he was soaked you could see how small he really was!
When he was a kitten he looked like a baby wombat as his ears were sort of flat on top. My favourite features were his beautiful thick large soft dark paws; even his pads were dark smokey-grey, and his wonderful bluey soft velvet nose. His fur was in two lengths thus the name Spike. He also walked up the inside leg (vertically) of a male friend who totally agreed with his name - perhaps he named him Spike in his pain. Later we said he had the correct name as he had a sense of humour akin to
While Spike was really nice natured he was very determined and cunning. If I was holding him he knew exactly when your attention was diverted and he was off. He taught me the art of full in-the-moment concentration. I tried to bath him once. To get away he climbed up my front, over my shoulder and down my back. There was nothing I could do to get him off me and yes, it hurt - not to mention the holes and spots of blood he left behind.
As a kitten Spike never really played and only rarely in later life. When he did it was a joy to see him have fun and play. He liked a certain colour blue and one particular cloth toy mouse in this colour was his favourite. Occasionally, he would part run up one of the large gum trees and play with the bits of bark, then jump off. He liked you to watch him when he did this.
When he was still a kitten Joy and I came home and we could hear him wailing but couldn't find him anywhere. It was getting dark when we eventually found him, on a branch, high up in a gum tree in the front. He was terrified. I put on all the outside lights and got the largest ladder, extended it to its full length and put it against the tree. Joy held the bottom and up I went. I had to stand on the very top rung, on my toes and reach above my head to even get a hold of his back leg. Bits of twigs and bark dropped on Joy's head as I tried to wrench Spike off the limb on which he had found sanctuary. Joy stopped looking up and held on to the ladder as tight as she could. I jammed my knees against the tree, shifted my focus to the top of my head, stretched as far as I could. I prayed, let go of the tree, grabbed both of his back legs and pulled him off into my arms. In the morning when I saw how high up he was I was so glad it was really dark when we rescued him!
Spike had one of the roughest tongues you could imagine. None of the other cats would ever let him wash them! When he decided to wash me it was really painful.
One of his favourite past times was to get on my pillow at night and "knead" strands of my long hair into un-combable knots. Not to mention how my neck felt in the morning when I had shared my pillow with him for much of the night!
He liked rain and often came in sparkling with very, very wet paws. Somehow, no matter what type of mat you had at the front door, he would manage to miss it completely!
He never went for birds, frogs, mice, or the goldfish - he often drank from the frog-breeding pond and the larger goldfish pond. He hated the real Summer heat and would move as the shade moved. I have often seen birds drinking out of his water bowl while he was lying next to it in an attempt to stay cool. One really hot summer's day I saw a bird walk up to him and just stand there (it had been injured and couldn't fly). Spike just looked at it, put his paw over his eyes and went back to dosing. It was almost as if he said sorry but it is too hot. The bird walked down the drive and across the road and was hit by a car.
I have only seen Spike in action twice. When his favourite cat Bonnie had her five kittens outside exploring near the front door a blue healer dog came up the drive. Bonnie must have swiped at it as when I saw it, it was running away almost falling over, with its back legs in front of its front ones. Bonnie was puffed up about four centimetres from its tail, which was flat against its body, with Spike following her a little further back. His fur was standing out in full "lion mode" - I have ever seen him look so large. Both cats stopped at the end of the drive but the dog kept running. I doubt that dog would ever recover from the incident let alone the embarrassment of being seen off by two cats that, in reality, were smaller than it was.
The other time was early one Sunday morning. A black cat, not unlike Spike in appearance, had been crossing the property on a regular basis. This day however it was ambushed. Spike on one side and Josh (the male cat in training - who likes quiche so you know what a "sook" he is) on the other. They rolled it over and really got stuck into it. I have seen it again on the other side of the road but never on this property.
Spike was one of the cats that sat on top of my computer monitor on the colder days and as I write this I miss him terribly.
He was first on the bonnet of the car when I came home in Winter. As a treat he loved small pieces of Red Rooster roast chicken but his favourite food was cubes of lean beef from the Queen Victoria Market. (Meat sales will be down there with his passing.) He only went to the Vet three times in his life; he always seemed to know what I was planning and he would vanish.
When you called him he was one of those cats that always took a message and got back to you when he was ready. If he was around and wanted to talk to you he expected you to find him. If he woke up and wanted to eat he called you loudly until you fed him.
He only ate inside and had a special area away from the other cats. Being a long-haired cat he sometimes deposited fur balls in various places in the house. With Spike you always knew when Spring was coming! He liked real milk NOT cat milk and lined up for his drink when I made my morning coffee.
When he died he looked like he was sleeping. His large luminous green eyes were closed, his ears pricked up. He was in full stretch, lying on his side, tail stretched out and his beautiful paws just slightly curled. It was like he had been laid out for me to find.
Spike didn’t like other cats much and he hated leaving home. When he was "fixed" the Vet had to keep him away from the other cats when he was in recovery. I am now sure that the spirit cat I saw in the house a few days before had come for him.
I will miss him greatly and I know I was privileged to spend time with him and I truly treasured it all.
Irene Margaret Fullarton 19 July 2007. (Reference to Casper added 31 January 2009.)
Spike, Abbey (Anubis) and Rogan 'Josh' getting warm on the car
Rogan Josh born Cup Day 2 November 1999 was named after this horse
The Rainbow Bridge Poem and Feline Spirit Poem (scroll down)
Another version of the Feline Spirit Poem
A Rainbow Bridge e-card is available on this site
