Thread by @dannykellywords

Please forgive the length of this🧵, but it contains a tale I need to tell, a story of courage, redemption, and love. First, the difficult bit, the headline... our beloved old cat Hector has departed this vale of tears. She was magnificent...

Wasn't always so. When we bought our house, the previous owner left us a note. Not about heating and bins, but about a hairy red cat she'd been feeding. Lived in the fields, sheltered (she thought) in an old shed. She called him "Hector", and hoped we'd continue to feed him...

...which @AlexClark3 duly did. Hector continued to live outside, and eventually began sleeping in my cousin's old tractor. Alex noted that the cat was in very poor condition, bald down one side and scrawny. We decided to scoop it up and take it to the vet...

Surprise! Hector turned out to be a girl! And, said the vet, in really bad shape after maybe months, or years, in the fields. That was when we decided we'd take her in. What followed was, to my eyes, a miracle. Alex, thru dedication and patience, brought Hector back to life...

Her hair grew back, she put on weight, her coat became shiny and fabulous. She became happy and familiar around the house...

She loved to sleep in an old suitcase, right next to the radiator, naturally...

She and Alex became inseperable. Here they are doing some potting in the greenhouse...

But, best of all, Hector adored when the weather was hot. She'd spend the whole day outside, just soaking up the rays.

Happy years followed. Then, last spring, Hector's behaviour started to be odd. The vet said she was probably very old, but had also gone blind. Totally blind. I've had eye trouble. My mum is nearly blind. I cried for three days after we got the news...

Turned out Hector was much braver than me. To my astonishment, she quickly adapted to her sight loss. She learned the house off by heart, continued to use the cat flap, wandered about happily outdoors. She even abandoned her suitcase and took over a spare bed! A total hero.

In recent months age started to catch up with Hector. She was slower, more doddery. And a few weeks ago she went out and never returned. The vet tells us they often do this, go off to somewhere familiar to die on their own terms.

My last picture I took of her, settling in for more sunbathing. We miss her terribly. But I want to thank @AlexClark3 for the life she gave this fantastic animal. And to thank Hector for all the joy her radiant beauty and quiet dignity brought to our lives.

Thanks for reading this.