Snuffles snuffling became more and more pronounced with nasal secretions constantly dripping from her nose and her eyes started to weep. There was no choice but to go to the vet who diagnosed cat flu and suggested that she had been infected for some time and that the cattery proprietor certainly would have known.

“You should take her back and demand your money back” he told us. Of course we didn’t do this as by this time we had already taken Snuffles into our hearts. She was an absolute delight, if not a bit naughty as she climbed the curtains and  jumped onto the kitchen bench to eat the meat thawing for our dinner. Luckily she was trainable and she soon knew what was and was not acceptable.

She was like a dog in the way she followed us wherever we went and seemed to enjoy gardening as much as I did. When I would dig a hole in the veggie patch she would do likewise. She survived her flu without deteriorating further and her eyes and nasal drip disappeared completely. Her snuffling remained with her for the rest of her life which in some ways was good as there was no mistaking when Snuffles was about.

Shortly after Snuffles became part of the family we obtained our first fish tank. It was a three-foot tank on a stand  which we filled with gold-fish. We enjoyed the relaxation afforded by watching the fish swim idly around the tank but became after a short time enamoured with the  variety of tropical fish we saw at our local aquarium. We decided the gold-fish had to go. We would trade them in.