Frosty Dodds

Frosty's mother was a young blue point siamese cat, who I owned, who fell for the charms of the local ginger tom. She had a litter of 7 kittens, one of which was Frosty. ( Karma also has a memorial on this site.) We picked the name Frosty, as she had a white patch of fur on her face, which resembled frost. Frosty was grey and white with green eyes.
Frosty lived in Deckham, Gateshead, where she was born. We kept her mum, and one of her brothers, a tabby cat called Bengal, who she used to play hide and seek with behind our living room curtains.When she was a kitten, she contracted pneumonia, and we fed her with a kitten bottle filled with milk for 3 days until she started eating again, tempted by some salmon.Sadly Karma died when Frosty was nearly one year old, and Bengal disappeared. However,Frosty soon became accustomed to being an only cat.We were living in Bensham, Gateshead, by then. Her best friend was a burmese cat called Dusty who she used to sit on the wall with.We had a coal house in those days, and Frosty sometimes used to sit in it, and come in absolutely covered in coal dust!
We moved to Wallsend, when she was 3 years old, where she lived for the rest of her life.When she was first allowed out after she moved to Wallsend, she disappeared for a whole day. We walked all over the local area, shouting for her, and then sadly put her bowls away when we couldn't find her. Then we saw her face appear at the kitchen window and we were so pleased!!
Over her long life she had many adventures, and lost some of her 9 lives.
When she was a curious young cat of 3 years, she used to sit on the side of the bath, and watch us, and one day she slipped and fell in. The water was really hot, and we heard a splash, and luckily she had jumped straight out. There was steam coming from her fur, but she was fine.She hated the bathroom after this.
She loved to hunt, and we have a field just outside our house. When she was 3 years old, she appeared with the largest vole I have ever seen in her mouth. She ran into the kitchen, and threw it onto the table! Maybe she wanted us to cook it for her. The vole got its revenge anyway, as it managed to bite her on the nose, which meant a swollen nose, a trip to the vets and antibiotics.
Once we saw her pawing at her mouth, and when we looked inside we saw a chicken bone wedged right across the roof of her mouth!We eventually managed to prise it out, without losing our fingers, or dislodging it down Frosty's throat!No more chicken bones after that mishap!
When she was 4 years old, we left the turkey out to defrost on Xmas Eve, with a bowl over it. When we got back she had eaten one of its legs!Just as well we had no guests that year for lunch, as we had to wash it and cook it as it was!!
When she was 5 years old, she got her first experience of a screaming baby, in the form of my first child Damien. She tore up the stairs in fright, and hid. She soon got used to him, however, and he was followed 3 years later by my daughter Sarah.
Frosty tolerated both the baby and toddler stages well, and both of my children grew to love her, and spent ages playing with her, and delighting in her antics.Sarah used to let her sleep on her bed.
Her favourite place to sleep was on top of the television, which was sometimes obscured by her tail waving across the screen!
Frosty used to sleep upstairs on a bed, when we were all at work and school.However,when she heard the door being opened,you would hear a thud from upstairs.This thud was Frosty jumping down onto the floor, to come downstairs, to greet whoever had come home.
If she was in a room by herself, and one of us entered the room, she would start purring just because she was pleased to see us.
She was a really happy cat, even when she was really old, and had a touch of arthritis.
When she was 12yrs, she got something sharp in her eye,like a rose thorn, and had to have an operation. She had her third eyelid sewn up for 2 weeks, and looked like a pirate.
When Frosty was 17 yrs, we decided to get a kitten called Kirk. She hated him at first, but grew to like him.(Kirk died, aged 14 yrs, in 2007, and has a memorial on this site, and Chloe died in 2009, and also has a memorial on this site)
He was joined by a siamese kitten called Chloe when Frosty was 18 yrs. Chloe was determined that Frosty was going to like her, and used to wrap herself around her like a scarf.
When Frosty reached the age of 18, she appeared in a cat magazine with photos of her 18th birthday card, and key to the door, which we had bought her to celebrate this momentous occasion.
She was extremely well all her long life, and even survived a teeth cleaning and extraction operation at the amazing age of 19 yrs, but unfortunately died 3 weeks later of kidney failure.
We buried her under a bush in our garden.
She was a wonderful family pet.