Ricky

I always associate the cottage with Ricky as he’s been part of our week on Hedgehog Island for the past seventeen years!

But not this year…

2020 on Hedgehog

Last year we noticed that Ricky just wasn’t himself, spending most of the day on the couch and little time in the outdoors. In the past it was the opposite and early on, when he was younger, Grace would get upset if Ricky asked to go out after dinner in case he wouldn’t come back.

You’ll see below that he loved the freedom to explore the island and, being on an island, we didn’t have to worry too much. This was his week, once a year, to be an outdoor cat.

2021

• Over the years
• Penny and Ricky
• Snowy
• Phoebe
• Ricky’s convalescence

Penny has said that Ricky used up his nine lives years ago. Undergoing surgery when he was two for a hamartoma and then enduring the many side effects from that including a bleed on his side that, a year later, had not healed, sneezing blood, difficulty breathing and PUPD (lots of thirst and urine). In addition he lost his hearing, and his eyesight was poor. In the end he was wobbly while walking and we believe suffering some dementia.

Of course when we finally make the decision — Grace says we always wait too long — he starts to behave like a ‘normal’ cat.

So difficult to know what’s right.

Over our seventeen years

Roommates

Ricky has outlived two other cats over our time at the cottage:

Snowy

Our special adoption from the Humane Society. Ricky had a ‘difficult’ relationship with him:

Phoebe

We picked up our senior citizen from the Aylmer Humane Society and she turned out to be the perfect lap cat that Penny was hoping for:

Ricky and Penny

Early on in his life Ricky decided to scratch Penny’s nose with his tooth. Over time though, as he ‘matured’, they developed a great relationship.

Our bandaging efforts

Some of our attempts to help Ricky’s bleed to heal and prevent him from removing the bandage:

20 Years

Read on for a sampling of photos (from which there were so many to choose) spanning Ricky’s twenty years:

One memorable visit (for Ricky) was when Fred visited the cottage. Fred’s a very calm Sheppard mix but doesn’t he meet Ricky at the door, nose to nose. Ricky does an about face and turns into the Tasmanian Devil: jumping up and bouncing off surfaces until he ends up in the rafters.