My Pet Story (Gary the Cat Update) - with Petplan

It's about time I updated you on what Gary is up to, although it is with a degree of disappointment that I inform you he still doesn't have a 3-storey cat hotel, but you never know, one may just be in his near future... Black Friday is only getting closer...

For anyone who has missed Gary's story, he arrived, he squealed (for an hour). We let him in, he repaid us in hugs and a terror of the outdoors, followed by a persistent inability to have a wee. The internet raised some of the money, the vet took a hatchet to Gary's credentials and he's been just fine since.

He's only 3 and he's had the most adventures of any animal I've ever had.

Gary is the only cat I have ever actually tolerated liked. I'm not a natural cat person, I like dogs - but don't tell Gary. He's very excited by passing dogs, but I don't think he intends to befriend them.

Having only Gary for experience, I have no idea what's normal, but I can only imagine he's adapted well to life without tackle. He seems fit and healthy, and he can really surprise you with a Cato-style Ninja attack when you are on a 3am loo trip, so I'm assuming that's proof.

He has overcome his terror of the outdoors and goes out to play now. He fiercely defends our garden against all kinds of ferocious beasts, mainly ginger cats, and we've not been infested by tigers, so job's a goodun. He has proven himself as a cat, killing a small rat and proudly sitting watching over his gift by the back door until we spotted it. We were very happy and he was quite disappointed I didn't eat it. I could tell because he whined at me so much when I deposited it in the bin, and he had that disappointed look in his eyes.

He also took a fancy to birds, of which we have many in our garden. This was a sad day for a fledgling he brought home, but he really didn't enjoy the screaming and wailing from all of the children in our garden at the time. I think he could tell I wasn't impressed and he thankfully hasn't bothered again. The bell helps.

He does still wee in the toilet sometimes, but annoyingly mainly squats in the middle of the lawn now. He still only pees once a day, so it can be an area to avoid for a while. He does still sleep at the end of my bed, although the luxury Amazon box cat bed has been far too warm recently, so he's opted for sprawled. That makes it easier for him to lick his not-balls at 1AM and keep me awake and suitably disgusted. He isn't keen on the smell of my partner's toes though, so it's a fair swap.

Before I had a cat, I didn't understand why people even liked them. They seemed aloof and I really didn't like the way they poo in your garden and then hide it just enough you won't see it, but will suffer. I did however take to Gary instantly and gave him a very positive review. I know everyone thinks it about their own pet, but he's different. In some ways he thinks he is a dog, probably because I didn't know any better. He'll even chase a ball, although getting him to bring it back is a bit hit and miss.

A lot of people said that Gary was sent to us. We were in a bad way after my partner had Meningitis, and then knocked for 6 when we lost Elspeth. Gary gave us a distraction, something else to focus on. He gave everyone someone to love, fight and care for, and he repaid us in spades.

He tolerated my youngest, and taught him how to be careful with animals. He kept my 9 year old company while he went to sleep - the hardest part of the day for any of us. He showed us that we should never predict cost of keeping a pet, because that'll come back to bite you. He proved that cats can learn to use the toilet and they can play fetch. He also showed us that Pet Insurance is a very good idea if you find yourself with a kitten, before it gets ill.

Mostly though, Gary has convinced me that cats can be a good, loving companion and I can see the point now. I'm not quite at the stage I see cat memes and say "awww", so crazy cat lady is a long way off yet, but I do admit to smiling occasionally.

Petplan Pet Insurance would have cost us under £10 a month at the current prices. Gary cost us over £1500 in vet bills in his first year. Whoever left Gary at our door most likely knew he was ill, but he'd been incredibly well-cared for and it's sad to think that he may have been given away because someone simply couldn't afford to help him...

We were lucky, the Internet and the lovely people who use it helped saved Gary, and after all of that excitement it was great earlier this year to think that we'd had two years with Gary, rather than having to say goodbye and give up on an otherwise healthy animal.

This post is in conjunction with Petplan, but all thoughts are my own. 

The words I typed were all mine too! The rabbit, Edgar, and the guinea pigs, Mango and Pickle, are also rescued animals.