Cats

Splinter — Too Small To Be A Chip Off The Old Block

Splinter, the Bengal kitten, came into my Dad’s life, soon after his (Nono’s) 88th birthday.

Splinter the Bengal mixed breed kitten when we first got him. He was about 12 weeks old. Author’s image

Teng Sing Tung, the elegant Tonkinese, was my heart’s delight and his accidental death devastated me. Soon after that, I was going away overseas in mid-April 2006, and I could not leave my Dad (Nono) home, alone without a cat. So, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I put a cardboard box onto his lap and said “This is for you!”

M father, variously called Bluey, Nono, and Dad. Also William when we were being formal He is in the garden in Stoneville, wearing his khaki long sleeved shirt and trousers. (Author’s image)

Nono was gobsmacked to see the tiny, tabby kitten I picked out at the vets. He was very aloof, with big eyes and ears like a bat. I explained that this tiny creature (hardly bigger than the palm of Dad’s hand) was his own cat. That he would have to take care of him.

He climbed up onto my Dad’s chest, licked his face and neck and settled down on his shoulder. They bonded instantly. My Dad (who had recently turned 88, on 26 March 2006) had never had a cat of his own. I cannot remember our family being without a cat — but they had all belonged to someone else. Never Nono.