We started with a rescued Siamese back in 1973 who was purchased from a "breeder"s husband, by luck when I visited the home of this breeder, I heard the crying of cats and I did not get a reply to the front door. I climbed over the fence into the back garden where I found her shut in an unheated garden shed, dirty, full of faeces and starving. She had been left to die by the husband of the breeder (she had run off with his best friend!) with three other Siamese, they were cold, thin, covered in fleas and lesions, living in dreadful conditions. When the husband saw me in his garden he came out of the back door to ask what I was doing in his garden, I told him I heard a cat crying in distress and thought that maybe had become trapped or hurt, he was very angry with me.  Eventually he told me I could buy all the cats for one hundred pounds, but I only had little money so I decided to take the poor girl who was in the worst condition and being me, I had to rescue her, I paid £19.17.6d for her, which was all the money I had at the time, he put her in a cardboard box and I rushed her to my vet who said "now what have you rescued" (he was used to me coming in with various rescue animals!), it turned out that this poor soul was pregnant, emaciated and in a real mess, help!, With much time, love and worry we finally had 6 beautiful babies, but prior to that when I first took her home I had to put her in my greenhouse for several days as she was so vicious, (due to being abused and mishandled by PEOPLE), I have never looked back, it broke my heart to part with her children, but my husband at the time insisted that we could not keep any more cats, so against my will I found all her babies lovely homes.

PS. I also reported to the Cats Protection League the condition of the other cats in the garden shed and they were all rescued.

This lovely lady was the beginning of an era,  she went blind at 8 years, due to complications during neutering, she actually "died" for several seconds during the operation. It was some months later when this became apparent, due to my moving of some furniture in the lounge, she walked into a new chair, her eyes still looked bright and healthy, but after tests it was proved she was totally blind, probably since the operation. However we still managed right up until she developed cancer of the bowel when she was 16 yrs old, I nursed her the best I could, but would not let her suffer, although I knew it would hurt me to lose her, but had to do the right thing by her eventually.  I will always have a very soft spot for my "Tabitha", no one will ever take her place, although over 30 years later I have lost many other cats and they are all precious, some more than others, and any caring breeder will understand exactly what I mean.