Susie 1
Maybe Susie 1 is still around, in Susie 2.
About 14 years ago we lost our 2 cats, old age, they were 19 and 20 years old. My black cat (Bob Marley) and Mrs fillys black and white cat (Bella). It took her about 6 months to even think about replacing them because they were, quite simply, irreplaceable. She started looking at the RSPCA website and over the course of a week fell in love with a silver grey coloured cat called Purdy, as a safeguard, she also fell in love with a tortoiseshell coloured cat called Mandy. Both were lovely as far as she was concerened and both fitted the strict criteria of not resembling in any way, shape or form, Bob or Bella. She was quite adamant about that, they had to be different, rather than a lookalike substitute.
Saturday morning she phoned the RSPCA to check they were still available, they were.
We took a drive over to St Columb, parked the car and I said I'll just have a fag (it was shortly before I gave up smoking) before we go in. As I puffed away on me fag a couple of cars pulled up and the people got out and went in, after I finished smoking we went in and were 3rd in the queue.
The 1st couple asked 'is Purdy still available', yes, come through. The 2nd couple asked 'is Mandy sill available', yes come through, have a look.
At this point Mrs Filly turned to me and said, quite loudly, "you ******g ***t".
We spent an hour there looking at a huge selection of adorable cats but for whatever reason, Mrs filly wasn't taken by any of them, on the way out she enquired wether Purdy or Mandy had found homes, they had so we went back to the car empty handed.
It was a frosty drive home and there were a few tears at one point, 'if you hadn't had that cigarette' etc etc.
Anyway, later that day she said she was going out, unbeknown to me she went to the local cat rescue in our town. Out of all the kittens there, one in particular clung to her as if her life depended on it, Sally said that one's a bit feisty, she was born feral up on Bodmin Moor, she's been neutered now but quite late so she's still a bit wild.
Mrs filly tried to put the kitten down but it wouldn't let go, it was black and white, and identical in every way to Bella, In fact to this day, mrs filly is convinced it is Bella, and she came back to spend another 20 years with her.
Normally the rescue place will do a home visit to check your suitable, but Sally saw something between mrs filly and the kitten and said she could take her away now if she wanted, she did.
Of course the best bit of the story is that I was no longer a ******g ***t.
