It saddens me no end to write the above, but last night I discovered that beautiful Alfred had died. He was found to have a heart condition, blood clot and other ailments that were causing him great pain and there was little hope for any sort of recovery. It all came on very, very suddenly and just as suddenly, Alfred was gone. He was 10 years old.

Although not our cat (lived one house down), he was most definitely a welcome and enjoyable addition to our household, visiting frequently both inside and outside. He was unique, charming, unusual, and chock full of personality and character. It is going to be hard on us and all the neighbours, not to mention his owner, who loved him over the years. For all the sadness I feel at the loss, he might as well have been my cat. I will really miss him.

At least I have hundreds of photos of him, some of which are on this gallery.