Sadly we have said goodbye to our feline friend, Felix. He arrived at Oldbury Grange Nursing Home in 2006 as a young stray cat (believed to be about two years old). As staff and residents began to feed him, he realised he’d found a good home with us!
In the same year that Felix arrived at the Home, resident Barry Gittins also arrived and he’s still with us today. Barry loved Felix and the feeling was definitely mutual. Barry was broken hearted by the death of Felix and still keeps his food bowls in his room.
Barry said: “Felix was my friend, a very good friend. He used to sit on my walker next to me and lick my hand, and sometimes sleep on my bed at night.
“Once when I went into hospital he was waiting outside my bedroom door for me when I came back. He once meowed outside my patio door to come in with a mouse in his mouth, I said to him ‘you can’t come in with that!’”
Felix had a feeding station outside and a favourite bench where his bed was. He liked to take a nap in the daytime here (this is soon to become his memorial bench).
Our residents used to buy treats for him and he would go from room to room knowing he would get some treats and a tickle.
Many of our residents had to leave their pets behind when they came to stay with us, so it’s great they have formed a bond with our resident cat, Felix. Visitors looking around the Home for their loved ones would often comment “my mum will absolutely love him”.
Felix used each and every entrance and exit and jumped through windows, he always knew how to get in and out of the home without assistance. He was such a big part of everyone’s lives at the Home, he was just “one of the family”.
We will miss him dearly.
