Grandpa Spencer was found in a binbag shaved and covered in super glue. He was an old boy when we found him and earned the name Grandpa because he looked after all the kittens that came through SHUA during his time with us (see picture with kittens 'the ducks'). He was profoundly deaf but mysteriously he knew instantly when chicken was being handed out. He stayed with SHUA for about 18 months but he developed a tumor and sadly had to be euthanased in 2004, aged approx 17 years.
Spencer found a best friend called Checkers during his time at SHUA. Checkers, who was approx 18 years old, had come to SHUA with his companions Henry, also approx 18, and Shadow, approx 12 years old, when their Mum, Dorothy, had to go into hospital for a serious operation.
When Dorothy came out of hospital, she was very unwell but took Henry back. Checkers and Shadow stayed on at SHUA. When SHUA moved to our current premises, Dorothy felt that she had recovered enough to take another cat back, so she took Henry, leaving only Shadow at SHUA.
Two days after Spencer died, Dorothy woke up to find that Checkers had passed away in his sleep. Spencer and Checkers were buried together at SHUA, at Dorothy's request.
Shadow, although the youngest, was very ill for a long time and we never expected her to be alive to move with us to Sully - but moving seemed to give her a new lease of life. She had more than a year with us in Sully before she passed away, not too long after Spencer and Checkers died. Henry also passed away in the same year. There must have been a pretty strong bond between these four cats.
Back to Rescue Stories Main Page.
