Hello! My name is "Vegemite".

I'm a black cat, but in the sunlight you can see a brown colour through my fur. That's how I got my name.

I can't remember much about my early life, but one dark night I found myself in a shed at the back of a house in Hawthorn, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. I had been abandoned. I was about to give birth to four kittens. I was very, very frightened. My kittens were beautiful, one was a tabby with a white tip on his tail, the other three a mixture of various colours and their squeaks and squeals gave me great comfort.

The squeaks and squeals were heard inside the house, and a human came out into the shed to investigate. I was scared so I ran away. When I came back the kittens were gone. I felt very sad, and frightened.

When I ran away, the humans in the house thought that I had abandoned the kittens and they took them to an Animal Shelter to be cared for. Some hours later they returned with my kittens.

They didn't know that I was a special cat that could understand what humans say. They were talking amongst themselves and said, "the Animal Shelter could not look after the kittens and would have to put them down". Being kind people they could not agree to this, and brought them home hoping perhaps that I would return.

I was hiding in the garden and when the kittens arrived back in the shed, I rushed to them. The humans were relieved. They approached cautiously and left me some food.

As the days passed, I could see that the humans were kind people. They gave me food and water. I was still pretty scared and would run away whenever they approached. I think I must have been treated badly when I was very young. Just as well I can't remember.

The next two months were very happy ones with the kittens. I heard the humans talking about getting good homes for them.

"Flower"

Eventually the time came and it was a sad day when the kittens went off to their new homes, all except one - the tabby with the white tip on his tail. The humans called him "Flower". We had great fun together, but one day "Flower" could not be found. He had probably wandered off and either been hit by a car or stolen by someone. It was a very sad time for me and I know the humans were sad too, I heard them talking about it.

Mother and Son,"Flower"
Not long after this photo was taken "Flower" went missing

Time passed. There was a gray and white persian cat that became friendly with me and it was not long before I had some more kittens. I found a great spot amongst the bamboo in the garden to give birth to the kittens. The humans thought I had disappeared and were concerned about me. They were astonished when from the bamboo, out came one by one, five fluffy gray and white kittens. The humans found good homes for them..

Mother, son "Flower" and gray kittens,

I was still wary and a little frightened of the humans although they had been very kind to me. I didn't have the courage to go inside their house, I always stayed outside.

I heard them discussing what should be done so that I would not have any more kittens. I was not exactly prepared, when, one day I was placed in a small cage and taken to the Animal Shelter. I was put to sleep and was very sore when I woke up. Since that day I have not been able to have any more kittens. It was a frightening experience and I lost faith in the humans who had previously been so kind to me.

I am very happy now - I have a wonderful garden as my territory and have found some great places to sleep. I've got to know the humans. They're great and very kind. It's interesting listening to them talk. They don't realise I can understand every word they say. It's a pity they don't know about my special powers.

I've gained so much confidence now that I sometimes go inside the house and on a very cold night the humans allow me to sleep on the couch. I'm not frightened now when I'm picked up and cuddled and it's great to rub against the humans' legs and sit on their knees.

It's interesting listening to the humans talk. One of them is an amateur radio operator and I heard him reminiscing about the good old days of the crystal radio with the cat's whisker. I hope I'm not going to lose one of my whiskers! I must keep a close eye on him.

I've got a good figure. I must thank the humans for this. They only feed me twice a day, and they are careful not to give me any milk as this upsets my insides. I must admit though, that I do feel hungry at times.

I must tell you of an incident that occurred the other night. The humans were astonished at what happened and are still talking about it. It was a cold night and the humans had let me inside to sleep on the couch. I was pretty settled, but suddenly they observed me jump off the couch and run to the door. They let me out, and then saw me rush immediately down the path out of sight. Within moments I returned with a big rat in my grasp. The humans were amazed but very pleased.

They were discussing the incident, and one of them said perhaps that's where the expression, "I can smell a rat", comes from. You know, it really wasn't my sense of smell. It was my great sense of hearing. What I heard while lying on the couch was the high-pitched squeal of a rat outside. I bet the humans wish they had my sense of hearing!!

Now, there's a matter I want to clear up about myself. Some humans don't like cats because they kill birds. I want you to know that I'm not a cat like that. I think it is because I have this special power of being able to understand what humans say. I've often heard them talking about how cruel it is for cats to kill birds, and because of this, I've developed an understanding about this matter and my intentions are only of extreme kindness towards them. The birds have got to know me and trust me. The doves play together in front of me and sometimes I share my food with them.

However, there's a bird that I'm really frightened of - it's a big black crow nearly as big as me and, when, sometimes the humans give me a raw chicken drum stick for my meal, the crow will swoop down and fly off with it. Often the crow will stand on the drumstick and pick off any flesh that remains before flying off with it.

The crow is a very clever bird. It uses its beak to upturn my water bowl looking for worms or snails. This of course leaves me without water.

The humans are becoming quite friendly with the crow and feed it with dry bread. If the bread is too hard, the crow will grab the bread in its beak and soften it in water before eating it. Smart bird!

I love it when the humans work in the garden. I just follow them around from spot to spot. I think they enjoy my company.

Only eight lives left!

It's great that a cat has nine lives, but I reckon I lost one recently. Let me tell you about it.

The humans wondered why I had not come for my breakfast. They found me in the garden. I couldn't move, I was in some sort of a coma. The humans were very worried, considered taking me to the Vet, but decided against it as the stress would have been too much for me. I remained in a sort of a coma all that day. I think the humans were expecting the worst. They didn't know what was wrong. I know what had happened, I had been bitten by a spider. I'm able to tell you this because, next morning I felt better and could move again and even was able to eat some food and then over the next few days I recovered. The humans were very relieved. I guess I lost one of my nine lives.

I'm not sure what's ahead for me but at the moment I'm living in paradise - so different from my early start.

Intruder

Just when I thought my life was settled and comfortable, an intruder appeared on my territory - the humans named the intruder, "Blackie".

"Blackie" seemed friendly, but I was wary. Eventually, we met face to face and touched - it was scary - the contact didn't last very long. There was a growl and an arching of the back and we parted. Blackie then chased me and I jumped up on a table - one of the humans intervened and Blackie ran away. I heard one of the humans say that he had seen Blackie down the street trying to cross a busy road heavy with traffic. He was able to stop Blackie crossing the road and probably saved Blackie's life.

As you can see from the photo, the meeting was a bit tense. I'm on the left and Blackie is on the right. I suppose, somehow, I will have to cope with Blackie coming on my territory.

Not another Intruder!

Just when I was getting used to Blackie, a black and white cat, "Charlie", occupied my favourite chair on the front veranda.

Charlie is well known to the humans. His home is two houses away. I heard the humans talking about Charlie. A few years ago, by mistake, he was locked in an attic for three days. Ever since then, he changed from being a very kind and affectionate cat, to one who has become vicious and unpredictable. Even the humans are a bit frightened of him. He is a very big cat, so what hope of survival have I got if we meet!

It seems my world has been turned around - if Blackie becomes a regular intruder, I'll try to make friends with him. Not so with Charlie. I'd have no hope of winning a fight with him. I know the humans are worried about him. So now my life has become a little complicated - I suppose the paradise I was living in couldn't last for ever.

Tranquility again! The Intruders have gone

"Blackie" has been missing for about two months. The way he wandered the streets night and day, anything could have happened to him. Hope he is ok, though. May be his owner has left the district. "Charlie" was recently spooked when he was attacked by a "Blue Heeler". His owner accidently let the dog off the leash. Charlie went missing for three days, and his frantic owner found him hiding under the house. He is now inside the owner's house and refuses to come out.

What a change - now I can peacefully wander in my territory, eat and sleep in peace, and enjoy the company of the humans.

Now, two black crows share my territory. The humans have encouraged them, and they have become quite tame. One of the humans has to sit with me while I eat my food, otherwise the crows will steal it.

I have become quite used to the crows now - they respect me and I respect them.

Hope you have enjoyed the story of my life so far.


The humans have discovered some of my favourite places and taken photos of them.Click to see them.

Vale "Vegemite"

Sadly, on Tuesday 22 November, 2005, the life of "Vegemite" came to a sudden end.

We are deeply saddened and shocked by the loss of our wonderful and affectionate friend. She had become very much part of our lives and we will miss her greatly. We are privileged to have been able to change the life of our cat from one of extreme fear and maltreatment to one of extreme contentment, love and happiness.

The road to recovery from her early start was not easy. It took some time for trust of the humans to be regained. With much love and persistence it was achieved and Vegemite's life was transformed. She very much returned the affection given to her.

Thank you "Vegemite" for being part of our family for 14 years. We will miss you greatly - "The Humans"