Flo came into our lives on a chilly Sunday morning while lying in bed having a chat about one day in the distant future possibly adopting a cat. One look online at a rescue centre, and “in the distant future” turned into “right now” the moment we saw her cheeky little face. I was drawn to her, instantly obsessed for reasons I’ll never know. There was no way she wasn’t coming home to us.
As far as we know she was a stray and quite rightfully was a bit distrusting of most humans, but so desperately wanted to be loved. We were told that she had a feisty side, cuddles strictly on her terms, wouldn’t allow us to pick her up, and was a bit of a diva to boot – well she didn’t take long to live up to her reputation when we got her home, but we were prepared for it! We took things very slowly, showing her that we weren’t going to ever hurt her, and that love, cuddles and brushes are good things.
With a lot of love and TLC she blossomed into a truly amazing little cat. She became my shadow, always either on or near me, every bedtime a delicate balancing game as she insisted that her sleeping spot was either stretched out on my legs, or teetering precariously on my side, and nothing would change that.
She was incredibly intuitive, always knowing when something was wrong by giving an acknowledging nudge and nibble to check in. She filled our hearts with love and turned our house into a home, sprinkled with an ever present layer of cat fur that no amount of hoovering would lift. Her randomness and quirky nature made us love her even more, forever laughing at her getting the zoomies and having a mad dash around the house, for no other reason than she could. She loved lap time, head scratches, snuggles, and garden adventures, and hated men’s shoes. She was very chatty (typical calico) and always had a lot to say to us when we got home from work.
She brought an extraordinary amount of joy to our lives. A joy that felt like it would never return when she got taken from us so unexpectedly. It felt as though my heart had been ripped out. But even in death she somehow helped us heal, pointing us in the direction of two little rescue cats in desperate need of a loving home. And so her legacy continues on through them.
Flo, my little bean, my angel, my soul cat. The one who started our journey into rescue. Thank you for choosing us and for gifting us with the years we had with you. You taught us so much – patience, gratitude, but most of all love, and what it’s like to be loved back in return. I will love and miss you always.