Thursday 1 September 2011

Arrivederci Gigia...






Our much-loved old Italian cat and faithful companion Gigia has left this mortal coil. Abandoned and left starving by her previous elderly owner, we took her in when living in Livorno in 2000, and she was probably already 8 or 9 years old. She already had a bit of a limp but was a real character and a feisty lady. She'd come and investigate and get her paws grubby while I'd be in the garage working on some old bike, or she'd come on the bed and lick your face and wake you up with her cat breath. She didn't like it when we fostered some kittens, also abandoned, but once they went to new homes, didn't resent us for it. She couldn't bothered with hunting - food, sleep and a warm bed was what made her happy.

She ended up living a life of luxury at my in-laws' house in Tuscany, and provided company for my wife's very elderly granny. She was loved by everyone. Eventually, old age and her bad leg took their toll, and the vet decided it was time for her to sleep.

My father-in-law has buried her in the garden in a suitably dramatic Italian plot, under the shade of a beautiful rose bush. She would have liked that.

Ciao Gigia, e arriverderci!!

2 comments:

ITALIAN MOTOR magazine said...

Matt, sorry deleted your comment by mistake, here it is, nice words..: hey adam, never been a cat person....always hard to love cats when you have bull terriers.

id be happy with that little terraced resting place in tuscany....and a nice barolo at final sunset.

heres to gigia....

m

matt machine

Pete Stansfield said...

I would love a life like that, apart from the starving bit and visiting you in bed in a morning...