Idéfix

Idéfix was a 16 year old, black and white, short-haired male. I, Eleonore, rescued him from the S.P.C.A. on the 24th of August 1984, when he was approximately 2 months old. He was not what I intended to come home with, but because of his determination to get our attention by climbing the bars of his cage, my friend and I simultaneously pointed to him and said, "That one!" We were great buddies.

Idéfix got his name from the little dog in the "Astérix le Gaulois" comic book series. When I got him, he fit in the palm of my hand just like his namesake.

In his youth, Idéfix was a great hunter! He regularly brought home birds and squirrels. However, he was good friends with my budgie, Césarion. The bird would fly over to the cat, land in front of him, pull on his whiskers, and the cat would not react. Once in a while, Idéfix would swat Césarion, but that did not deter the bird. Of course the two were never left alone without human supervision. No matter how unthreatening the cat appeared, he was still a cat with hunting instincts!

In 1997, Idéfix retired. He lived in 2 different homes. When he stayed at my parent's apartment, he would go out and sleep on their balcony. When he stayed at our house, we had to put him on a harness whenever he went out, so that he would not get lost. He loved to lie on our deck, in the sun. He also had poor vision in one eye due to conjunctivitis, which he contracted in his youth, and a cataract due to old age. He purred every time he looked at you and when you spoke to him, he stared right into your eyes. He also, chirped whenever he heard words which were music to his ears, like "manger" (eat), "sortir" (go out) and "dehors" (outside). He had a great sense of humour and loved to play. He liked butting heads and getting his ears scratched. In other words, he was good companion.

On 13th June 2000, we had to euthanise him. He had developed cancer in the mouth. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Our veterinarian was very nice with us and made things as quick and as easy for us as possible. He explained to us what he was going to do and what was going to happen. His attitude made things easier. Taking him there was the hardest thing that I ever had to do. Steve thought that it would be too hard for me to see, but I did not want him to be alone and to wonder where I was. It was for the better.

I miss him.

Last updated 5th February 2001.