RIP Smudge

He turned up this morning in a very sorry state. Half his face was eaten away and he looked very thin. I was able to coax him into the cat cage with some chicken quite easily.
We put a cloth over the cage to keep him calm and took him to the vet when it opened.
They have just rang to say that they euthanased him.

Did Smudge come and say "Goodbye"

The lady who was going to catch Smudge didn't see him again. I had virtually given up seeing him ever again when this morning there he was on the back door step. I was so relieved to see him but it didn't last long. When he turned round I could see he had an awful open wound on his face under his right ear. It was about the size of a walnut and was concave. It was very watery. There was no pus and when I looked into it I saw little grey things moving about in it.

He meowed hello to me when I went out to see him and rubbed up against my leg with his good side. I gave him some food and he ate it but left the Friskies. I gave him a single stroke. Maybe my last.

He then wandered off and sat under the conifer in the front garden. I said goodbye to him when I left for work.

Eleanor said he was still there when she left for uni about 9.15am but he wasn't there when I came home about 4pm. I couldn't find him anywhere - in our garden and couldn't see him in either of the gardens next door.

I know he really needs to see a vet but don't know how to catch him and don't want to scare him off. If he returns tomorrow morning I may go and have a talk to the vet for advice. I fear they may not be able to do anything for him if we do catch him but at least he will be at peace.

If he doesn't turn up I doubt I will see him again. I will miss him. He has been part of my life for nearly 6 years now.

Last time we saw Smudge

7th September 2017 was the last time I saw Smudge in the flesh. He was looking a little battle scarred and was not as clean as he normally is.
A week later his picture appeared on Bacchus Marsh Residents Facebook page asking if anyone knew the cat as it had been eating the owners' cats' food. She was going to get a cage and try and catch him and take him to the vet.

Snuggles with Smudge and did I see Smidge

Smudge is getting ever more friendly. Some afternoons if it is warm enough and not too hot I sit outside stroking him and he will flop down and let me stroke under his chin. One day a couple of weeks ago he lay down snuggled up to my leg and I stoked him and he fell asleep. It felt so nice but when he woke up he was a little spooked and ran off.

Last night I had to go out to turn the tap off and it was dark. I switched on the outside light and saw a cat at the corner of the house - it looked so much like Smidge. Was it him? I called him but it wandered off. Not what Smidge would have done but it is over a year since I last saw him. Eleanor reckons I will be out their tonight with night vision goggles on and camouflage cloths looking for it!

Smudge is sick again

It wasn't the end of Smudge in July but everytime he doesn't appear now I worry in case I will never see him again. He has some sort of problem with his third eyelid as it is now showing in the bottom corner of his eyes. He is eating ok most of the time but disappears for a couple of days at a time. I haven't seen him since Friday.

Could this be the end of Smudge

I know I've said it before but I just feel that I have seen the last of Smudge. He hasn't been for 3 days and he wasn't eating properly before then. He has also let himself go a bit with his grooming. Since Smidge disappeared Smudge has only been absent on the odd day.
This is so sad as I felt we had really made a break through with our friendship. Last week, I spent a lot of time stroking him. I knelt down and he put his head on my knee and then he rolled over and actually let me stroke his tummy. Then he started playing with me - though he did have his claws out! He dug them into my leg and pulled himself along on his back.

He purred!!!

Smudge has increasingly been friendly since Smidge disappeared. Now every day when I go out to feed him he greets me with a meow and then he rubs up against my legs and lets me stroke him and rubs up against my hand with his cheek and head. A few times he has actually come up to me when I haven't got food and we have a stroking session. A couple of times he has actually rolled over onto his back exposing his tummy, like Smidge used to do but when I have moved my hand to tickle him he has got frightened and got up straight away and sat with his back to me as if to say that wasn't me. I didn't want tickling.
Today, we had a stroking session and he was actually purring. That is the first time I have ever heard him purr, in 3 1/2 years, since I first started feeding him.