Fred - The best clinic cat in the world!

Recently the team at Prospect Road Vet Hospital had to make the hard decision to euthanase a very special member of our team - Fred the clinic cat. Many people have fond memories of Fred lounging about on the front counter, giving people a loving hand lick, smooching around cats and dogs in the waiting room, and being a great reception assistant. These were just some of the things that Fred was famous for. But the team who have known Fred for his whole life have many more stories to tell about Fred.

These are just a few...

In the earlier days Fred had to share the clinic with his sister Ginger. Fred did make it clear early on that this was going to be his clinic only. He would torment his sister on a daily basis, chasing her and making her day very stressful to the point where she would urinate in the consultation room sinks and also spend most of her day next door in the mechanical workshop. So the decision to find Ginger a home was made... and Fred got his way and now owned the clinic!

Fred also had a bad habit during the summer season. On lovely balmy nights he would conveniently not come home at his 4.30pm curfew time. This happened normally once or twice a year where he would spend the night outside and we would wait anxiously for his return the next morning. The next day as we arrived for work he would trot up to us meowing and purring glad to see us!

Along with his overnight sleep outs, Fred did spend a little longer going missing on a few occasions. The longest he went missing was over a week! We were all devastated and concerned, flyers were posted, signs erected and advertisements were placed. After a week and a half a client who only lived three houses away came into the hospital and told us that Fred had been sleeping in his caravan the whole time! He was enjoying his company, feeding him and did not realised that he was listed as lost! Fred was a little thinner when we got him back but we think he quite enjoyed his little caravan holiday.

On another occasion a client had come in with their cat for a vaccination. After they left the clinic and returned home the client called to say that they have a tabby and white cat at their house ...that was not their cat! Fred decided it would be fun to jump in their car for a ride, again he came home safely.

Fred was a very playful and inquisitive cat - we would often find Fred under our treatment tables, in the sink and hiding in all sorts of places, including the shower room, toilet and in boxes. This often led to him setting off our security alarm at night as we could not find him to put him to bed for the night! If we saw him skating across the floor quickly he had normally found his favourite toy, usually a pet teat or a rubber dental polishing cup.

Fred was a life saver for several cats, donating his blood, and was also a mentor or "uncle" for many of our adoption kittens.

It was devastating for all of us when we realised that Fred had a terminal disease. We treated Fred for many months to control the progression and later to make sure that he was comfortable to enjoy his final time with us.

Fred was a very legendary character. Everyone that had the pleasure to meet him would agree that Fred was "The Best Clinic Cat in the World." We all miss him dearly...