Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett
Dedicated animal expert MARION GARNETT, founder of the Ealing Animal Charities Fair continues her column
MANY people would like a biography written about them. Although Nutmeg hasn’t asked for one, this is the story so far of Nutmeg,
The Tortoiseshell Cat Who Doesn’t Like Vets. We’re starting at Chapter 2, as the pages are missing for Chapter 1. We pick up the story as Nutmeg is living as a stray in West London but we don’t know how she got there.
It was September 2013, when some kind person realised Nutmeg wasn’t coping alone on the streets and looked up the nearest animal rehoming centre and handed her over to Mayhew in Kensal Green.
For a month, Nutmeg tried to settle in the centre but found it difficult so Mayhew took her to live with a foster carer. While there, news arrived that a lady who, for health reasons, rarely left the house wanted to adopt her. Matthew, Mayhew’s Cat Adoption Officer, did a home visit to meet the prospective owner who couldn’t wait for Nutmeg to arrive.
While she waited, she wrote a poem to welcome Nutmeg. The last two lines were “So do not fear my new found friend, your wanderings are past. And now I’ll have companionship and you’ll find peace at last”.
Their companionship lasted over four years. Chapter 3 tells how Nutmeg loved living with her new owner but got a reputation for not liking the vets. Not that she went that often but, if she did, she made it clear, she wasn’t happy.
Then towards the end of last year, the health of her owner deteriorated. Nutmeg spent most of the time sitting next to her waiting for her to get better. But in the early hours of January 31, with Nutmeg by her side her owner passed away peacefully.
And so it was, later that day, Nutmeg found herself back at Mayhew where she was warmly welcomed by Matthew, the Cat Adoption Officer, she met four years ago. He had prepared a cosy pen and she settled comfortably on the blanket her owner had knitted her. That is one of the advantages of getting an animal from a reputable rescue centre such as Mayhew, if you can no longer look after the animal, they will take them back.
Nutmeg is now waiting for the next chapter in her life to begin.
If you think in the next chapter of your life, there’s a loving space for faithful Nutmeg, see details at themayhew.org or meet her at Mayhew, Trenmar Gardens, Kensal Green.