Fred had cattitude. He was the most friendly and generous cat who loved a good fussing and tickle. He would sit on my lap, upturn himself and guide my hand to where he wanted me to scratch or stroke and, when he had had enough, he would gently push my hand away again. He had a purr so loud that even I could hear it and absolutely loved having his chin tickled.
I loved Fred and, as Beth said below on Facebook, his passing was a real shock. As far as I know, he was OK over the week, wasn't well over the weekend, Beth took him to the vet on Tuesday and he was lovingly put to sleep on Wednesday morning, the last and kindest thing that Beth could do for him.
We're going to miss him so very much.
This is what she wrote on Facebook with some photos.
Goodbye Freddie, aka Indikon Friedrich, Freddie boy, Teddie, Ted-Teds and a host of other pet names. Fred passed away today after a short and unexpected illness. We are all shocked and sad at his passing.
Fred was born at our home, second born of Indigo's second litter of Tonkinese, seven kittens all named after the Von Trapp children from The Sound of Music. Fred experienced an injury to his leg, possibly while being born, which was not picked up for a week or two, by which time it had set, wonkily. Nature is very clever though and it was amazing his well he adapted, with very powerful, muscular front legs, to make up for the weakness in the back ones, and when it was cold, or when he was tired he walked a bit like John Wayne. It didn't slow him down any, and he could run about with the best if them. He was super friendly from the start, even for a Tonk who are known for their sociability anyway, and would greet everyone as though they had come especially to see him.
A special cat needed a special home and we found one; a foster family where Fred's insistent but nondemanding friendship helped several children in distress find peace. He was happy there but inclined to wander, on one occasion getting stuck in a greenhouse in a heatwave, and rescued by some intelligent person responding to a search with 'Ooh, let me just look in my greenhouse' and there was a very thirsty Fred who leapt away immediately to come and shout about his adventures at home. That was not the first or the last time Fred would get shut in somewhere; they say curiosity killed the cat and Fred certainly went through all nine of his lives.
When he was 5, through no fault of his own or indeed his family's, he lost his home. The time wasn't right for us to take on a loud, dominant boycat; we had just lost Sofia and Theo had been unwell, so I found another home. This was pretty disastrous for poor Freddie, within weeks he was missing and there was some suggestion he may have been sold to fuel a Christmas drugs bender as the person I rehomed to also stole off my friend, and indeed did not reregister Fred's papers, despite me giving them the money for this. Whatever happened, Fred was AWOL and extensive searching proved fruitless and it was assumed he had passed away.
He turned up six months later, having been living in a barn in the countryside and raiding nearby houses for food. He befriended an older lady, who brought him in for scanning, and I made the long trip to pick him up, then weeks of integration with my other cats. He was a bit wild, had a lot of food trauma, was worryingly underweight and hypervigilant, but in one piece and I told him he would never need to find another home again. He also struggled with the other cats but over time he and Theo became besties, with Fred's sleek grey frame often followed about by Theo's fluffy white bottom
In time, it became apparent he wasn't going to be happy with an indoor only home, so my cats became outdoor cats. Fred was still a wanderer, and he needed options and he had several further episodes of being missing for days where we think he got stuck in a garage- he returned dusty and shouty, and was soundly thwapped round the head by his Mum Indigo. He also found his sister Lucy when she got lost/ stuck in a hedge... its fair to say Lucy does not have the street smarts Freddie had, nor the intelligence- you couldn't fool Fred, he was three steps ahead at all times.
For some years we think he had several homes he would spend time at, but in particular the two elderly gentlemen next door and, in time, after Theo had passed, he pretty much moved in there, only coming home for a quick cuddle and - thanks Fred - to use the litter box. It used to upset me a little bit, but Fred always needed more freedom than the others do, and I loved him so gave it... but I didn't like it.
When one of the gentlemen next door passed, during Covid, Fred moved back in and over time became more settled, a portly older gentleman quite content with life. When Peter came to join us, he was incredibly patient with him, and they built a strong bond. Until a few days ago they were having their nightly tussle up and down the cat tree. Fred made peace with me being his person and started to upend himself in my arms as he did when he was a baby, while I sang Lennon's Beautiful Boy, as well as other Fred songs to him. He became a bit of a peacemaker between the scuffles of the other cats too and settled down to indoor life again. He met Ree and adored her- Fred's girlfriend, obvs. And when my mother came over, Fred was on her lap within minutes of her sitting down.
And now he has gone. I don't think any of us have absorbed it yet. Thank you, Beautiful Fred. I hope we were able to add to your life as you did to ours.
