In Loving Memory of Stussy the Incredibly Amazing Wondercat

"Alan, would you call me ASAP. Dennis".

It was the SMS message that I knew would come at some stage. The time was 6 p.m. on Tuesday the 31st of October 2006 and I made the call to Melbourne Australia. The gentleman who is housesitting my home had the melancholy duty of informing me that my little friend of 15 years, Stussy the Incredibly Amazing Wondercat had been found dead on the nature strip outside my house. From an examination it was evident that she had been hit by car while crossing the street. Fortunately, she must have died instantly.

"Stuss" as she was affectionately called started off in the Brown family in 1991 living in Rowville as a kitten purchased from a pet shop following the demise of her predecessor Jack who also got run over by a car. I remember a time that my daughter Alana asked her mum and myself to propose some names for the new kitten. Sue chose "Jill" because it was the female of the predecessor Jack, Alana chose "Rizzo" which I think was the name of a character from the MASH series on television at the time and I chose "Stussy" because that's what the kitten was crawling up and digging its claws into one I was asked to propose the name, my Stussy pants.

After my marriage with Sue ended, Stuss stayed with me and we eventually moved to Carlton and became known in Barkly Street as " the guy with the cat". Stuss had an effect on many of the people living in Barkly Street Carlton because there was often many bowls of milk left out for this little black-and-white cat, I remember counting 12 at one stage. The most entertaining thing for the residents of Barkly Street was at night-time when I would get off the tram in Nicholson Street, walk across the park and then around the corner at the bottom of the street, and make a whistle similar to what you would do if you are calling a dog. Stuss would appear from wherever she was visiting at the time, ears up, inquisitive look on her face and then spot near the bottom of the street and come charging down to walk with me up to our house. This practice continued for years, and people across the road from me in Coburg even commented that she must know when I was coming because they would often see her walk down and sit next to the gatepost and wait, and then one minute later my car would arrive. Perhaps you could hear the car coming down the street. No mean feat as I drive three cars.

Stuss is always had a liking for playing games, such as darting out from behind furniture and attacking my leg, trying to swot me with her paw was through the balustrades of the stairs at Carlton, or under the table in Coburg, all delighted in chasing me around the various houses that we lived in before I would turn the tables on her and chase her.

After Carlton, Stuss and I went on to live in Bulleen before eventually settling in Coburg. As I rented the houses in Carlton and Bulleen I would have to petition the owners to allow me to keep a pet in a rented premises. At that time I had my daughter Alana coming over every second weekend and spending time with me, and also had the cat living with new full-time. It's interesting how some landlords or real estate agents make suggestions to people such as to put their pet in a boarding kennels for the next two years or so, have the pet putdown, stop inviting your children over to stay at the rented premises etc.... the list goes on. Am very grateful to the landlords at both the Carlton and Bulleen properties for allowing both pets and children in those houses. As they will attest the houses were in excellent condition when they were vacated sometime later.

Stuss was a very intelligent and inquisitive cat. She could also be extremely funny at times. One of our favourite party tricks was when people came over to visit and Stuss would sit there looking at me as I was talking with the visitors. At some stage I would turn to her and say " so Stuss, what do you think of the situation in Southeast Asia?" to which Stuss would respond "Raaarrrrrrrr" and I would respond, " Yes, exactly, that's what I thought". When I was playing music in my music room she would often coming and sit on the floor and listen. I would often asked her to join in mid song and say " come on Stuss, join in" to which she would reply "Raaarrrrrrrr" again. At the end of the song I would ask her " so Stuss, what did you think of that song?" and she would reply "Raaarrrrrrrr". A woman of few words, a standard answer for everything.

It's amazing how such a small creature can bring so much love and joy into one family. Stuss certainly taught me a lot about unconditional love and affection, lessons that I had missed in my growing up. She will be sadly missed but at the same time I understand that death is part of life. We will all depart one-day.

In closing, I would like to express my gratitude to Dennis who is staying at my house and also to my son Dylan for the love, care and attention they provided to this little creature after she died. To my son Dylan, thank you for looking after the "funeral arrangements". There is nobody else I would rather trust this sensitive job to. Thanks mate.

Until next time,

Alan signing off........................