Dave's and Dexter's stories...
Dave & Dexter’s story – two of our regular favourite black cats, who share their home with Lisa & Simon. We asked Lisa about their backstory.
Dexter’s Story – the short haired one
“I used to be a home carer, and one lady I looked after had a cat. When I walked into her house, I kept seeing a flash of black run out of her permanently open window. I realised a black cat was getting in, stealing her cat’s food and sleeping on the spare sofa. Slowly, over about a year, I earned his trust, by throwing him ham and leaving food out for him. Eventually I could stroke him and got a collar on him with a note to see if he belonged to anyone. He didn’t. In the meantime both our 18 year old cats had sadly died, so we put him in a cat basket and took him home. After some adjustment time, he settled in with us. We then got him neutered and vaccinated, and named him Dexter. Unfortunately over time he’s lost his sight; however he copes with this extremely well and is now a house cat. He has other health conditions which he takes medication for. We think he’s at least 14 years old, if not older. He’s definitely a mummy’s boy, follows me everywhere and smothers me with kisses, but loves his dad too. He still manages to play as long as his toys are noisy. He’s a lovely, handsome boy who loves having a brush, and I’m so glad our paths crossed”.
Dave’s Story – the fluffy one
“So little Dave came into our lives when he kept coming into ours and our next door neighbours’ gardens to find food. We started leaving food out as he looked so neglected. We also noticed when we stroked him, he was very skinny and his fur extremely matted. So every time he ate, as he was so hungry, I would cut his matted fur out. Slowly, over a long time, I managed to cut all the mats off and started brushing him daily; eventually his beautiful long fur came through. As we had old cats in the house, Simon made a hole in the shed door and we put a cat bed in there with food & water which Dave loved. We had our suspicions about where Dave came from; one day he arrived very late for his breakfast, and I realised he was very poorly with a high temperature. So Simon said we’ll get him to the vets but go and knock on his supposed owners door first to see what they want to do. I did this and they weren’t bothered about him at all (they actually said their dog would pick him up and shake him). And they didn’t know how to care for his fur! They infuriated me!!! But their loss was our gain, as we then became his official owners and named him Dave. The vet diagnosed a severe case of cystitis which he soon recovered from. His previous owners remembered his birthday which is how we know his age – he’s 17 and his birthday is in early May. He then moved in properly with us. He’s an absolutely amazing little boy, gentle and loving, who loves his dad even more than ham. His favourite toy, and he has a lot, is his laser toy, which he stands beside and cries ’til we switch it on for him. He doesn’t show his age even though he’s got various medical problems. He’s also lucky enough that we now live overlooking the relief channel in Downham Market. Our middle floor has a balcony which he loves sunbathing on and watching all the wildlife and boats go by. We’re so lucky his original owners didn’t want him. We love him”.
We asked ‘who’s the boss’? Lisa tells us that it’s a very even relationship, but even after all these years living together, there is no love lost between the boys. They tolerate each other and take it in turns to give each other a swipe, though will very occasionally play by chasing each other! Dave probably realises that Dexter is blind, and if Dex is getting too close, Dave will make a warning noise. But if Dave wants to give Dexter a swipe, he’ll just let him walk into him! How Dexter navigates cattery life, we have no idea, but he manages the cat trees and hidey holes with impressive ease. They are both loveable, charming cats who are an absolute pleasure to look after, and who are obviously so very much loved by Lisa & Simon.
