RIP Bert

By Elizabeth Prata

In August 2007, I rescued two cats. I named them Bert and Luke. They had been hiding under a row of bushes in Royston, and a friend had picked them up and brought them to the Royston Vet. She then implored me to take them. I was reluctant and she did a lot of convincing, until I wore down and finally said yes, much to my surprise.

They turned out to be the two best cats I'd ever owned. Luke was simply a love bug, enjoying cuddles and purring mightily. Bert was vocal, chirruping and talking to me all the day long. He made this sound brrrrrt when looking out the window, so I named him Bert after his favorite sound.

As they grew the enjoyed each other and me, and they never did a wrong thing.

In January 2014 I rescued another cat. He'd been born in the yard and the neighbor girl on the other side of the duplex began feeding him. Sigh. Then they decided to move and weren't going to take the cat with them since they had a dog who didn't favor cats. I chose to bring Murray in, as the girl had named the kitten. I would feel too bad leaving him outside all the time especially after he'd gotten used to being fed. He also longed for company, running after me whenever I roved around in the yard and asking to be held. In January when a strong and deep cold front moved through, with temps in the single digits, I made the decision to bring him in.

I didn't know that you're supposed to quarantine cat until you're sure that the new one isn't infected with coronavirus or leukemia, both of which were highly contagious among cats. Murray had coronavirus and infected both my other cats, and Luke succumbed quickly, dying of the more deadly version of coronoavirus, FIP, just about two years later in December 2015.

Twelve-year-old Bert did not succumb to the more deadly form of coronoavirus (FIP) but was painfully suffering from degenerative hip disease. His quality of life had diminished and he was in severe pain.

Now it's just me and Murray. Murray kind of doesn't know what to do with himself, as most of his little life has been with two or one cats for companionship. I'm not going to get another cat though, and when Murray goes, I won't adopt any more pets. It'll be just him and me for the duration.

Bert was a very good boy and I'll miss his chirrups and meows and especially his silent meow which was really cute. Here are a few pics of him throughout his life.

Coming home for the first time

Bert loved water and wanted me to turn on a drip for him

Early days, Bert with Luke

Bert's favorite thing to do: nap!

He loved hidey holes

Bert at 12 years shortly before his passing