The Story of Sooty, My first cat


I moved into a flat in Barnes,London in 1970 and the previous occupier had this cat called Sooty,he was long haired and in a bit of a state because the owner was a young chap who worked away a lot and he relied on friends to keep an eye on Sooty.
So poor Sooty had fleas and his long hair was knotted and he was used to being fed on chinese food and indian curries or any other left overs because the chap didn't always leave cat food for him !
I was asked by said chap to look after Sooty while he got settled into his new place and he would be away working on some building site for a few weeks so could not rely on anyone looking after Sooty,so I agreed to look after him as I had always wanted a cat and my mother had always said no at home.
I combed Sooty and cut his knots out  and took him to the RSPCA vet for advice how to care for him,apparently he was still a Tom but I couldn't agree to get him done as he wasn't my cat,I did think the flat smelled a bit when I moved in but didn't know what it was and just cleaned everywhere to try and get rid of the pong !
Sometimes Sooty had been shut in and sometimes left out !
I fed Sooty on the right cat foods and the vet gave him a shot of something and checked his teeth as well,he didn't like the constant combing every day but he was soon looking lovely !
The owner came back for him and I was feeling really upset at losing him , the chap said he had never seen Sooty looking so well and asked if I would like to keep him as he realised it wasn't fair to keep the cat as he was away a lot.
Apparently he found Sooty on a building site in Acton,London a couple of years before as a kitten.
So I got to keep Sooty for good and I had him "done" at the vet.
I came home from work one day and there was no Sooty,we had removed a small pane of glass in the bedroom window (ground floor)for him to come and go so it was strange he wasn't around.
I asked around and no one had seen him so I put up cards everywhere in the local shops and after a week we decided the previous owner must have come back for him.
I really missed him being around so my partner took it on himself to find me another cat-which he did and came to meet me one day from work with a large box on the back seat of our car,when we got home he carried the box into the house and closed all the doors and when he opened the box I saw this beautiful Siamese cat !
His name was George and my partner had found him in a pet shop where someone had bought 2 siamese kittens and they were getting too much as they were always running around and breaking things (how sad can you get) I loved George as soon as I set eyes on him, he kept being sick so I took him to the vet and she said he had a nervous stomach and I should feed him only fish and chicken for a while,which I did.
About a week later we heard this scratching noise at the door and when I opened it, there stood Sooty !  he went straight into the kitchen looking for water and food,he was so thin and his claws were worn right down,I thought he would never stop drinking !
Afterwards he spotted George who was lying in front of the fire and went to him and laid down beside him ! they both laid there together and touched paws and went to sleep !
We discovered later that Sooty had been locked into a cellar that belonged to the off-license on the corner of the street.
They delivered once a week from the brewery and that was when he got locked in,it must have driven him mental trying to get out especially as he must have heard me calling him.
Well Sooty and George got on OK together and eventually we moved house again to Southfields in London where we bought a small Siamese kitten called Dandy to keep George company but Dandy took one look at Sooty and went straight to him and they always slept together !
A couple of years later we moved again to Gravesend in Kent and then we adopted about 3 other cats, Katie,Bluebell,Ram a lam a ding dong (yes really)  we lived there about 7 years and decided to move again but by now Sooty had taken to the next door neighbours,they didn't have any animals but they liked Sooty and he was always round there so they wrote me a short letter asking if they could be his legal custodians !
I had to say yes because Sooty and I had fallen out, I was vacuuming the carpet one day and he was just lying there and the cleaner caught some of the fur on his tail ! I don't know who was more shocked, him or me !
He sank his claws into my leg trying to get away and I couldn't shut the cleaner off,eventually he got away and left me standing with my leg pouring with blood !  I cleaned myself up and went next door to see Sooty and half of his tail was furless!  I took him down to the vet and although he was badly bruised his tail wasn't broken Thank God, so of course you can understand why Sooty decided in the end he wanted to stay next door with the neighbours !
We moved away and when the couple who adopted Sooty went on holiday they brought him to me to look after him but he hated me now and wouldn't come near me  !
Eventually he got arthritis in his back legs and the new owners got him injections every month at the vet but a few years later he got too bad and they had to have him put to sleep.
He must have been about 20 when he died but didn't he have a life full of adventure ?

That's lovely, Shirley, and Sooty was certainly a cat to remember. Grand they all got along together so well but I'm so sorry you and Sooty fell out over the vacuum cleaner!

Grand memories they give us, bless them all!

What a lovely story, Shirley - it would make a brilliant children's book.  You should write it up and find someone to do some illustrations of Sooty and friends. 

 Thanks, I am glad you liked it, I could have padded it out with more of Sooty's adventures,he had a few in  his lifetime,more than all the other cats I think.  I will have to try and find some pictures of Sooty,my daughter may have some. He was a real character .

I just saw this now and what a lovely story....

i really enjoyed sootys story shirley  thank you for writing

 Sooty got into a lot of scrapes,more than any of the others did,he really enjoyed himself.

During the day if it was sunny he liked to sit on this old motor bike at the end of the garden,he looked so funny on it,when anyone asked for him I always said " I expect he is on his bike "

  one of mine sits on next doors mobilty scooter when he leaves it outside

A great story Shirley, sad that you and Sooty fell out tho' after all you'd been through together!

He sounds like a real character..thanks for sharing your story!