Tim stays in the background, but Gyp
has no such inhibitions.
Gypsy and Tim are two
brothers, very alike in many ways, but for Gypsy the world is
full of friendly people, Tim sees it differently. There are one
or two, maybe three, people he trusts totally, the rest could
be dangerous. At the end of the day, the boys settle down for
a chat, before watching TV with the staff.
Gypsy
I think
that the introduction sums it up quite well.
Tim
Just because
you think they are out to get you, doesn't make you paranoid
Gypsy
OK, now
we are going to tell them about our early life, before
we came to live
here.
Tim
John may
have to fake some of this as he did not know us then.
I have tried to
tell him
some of the details. We were born at a very early age.
Gypsy
Ho Ho.
Tim
If you want great
humour, don't employ a cat.
Gypsy
We went
to live with a elderly gentleman, who lived alone, apart
from us. He
looked
after us well, and that is where we got our names. Thelma
and John
decided not to change
our names when they took over looking after us.
Tim
He looked
after us too well, every year we went to the VET, to have
a needle
stuck in our neck.
That's a tradition I tried to get Thelma and John to drop,
but
no luck.
They think it will keep us healthy.
Gypsy
The place
we lived in was similar to Thelma and John's, it was in
a small village,
there was
a road running in front of the house, but not too much
traffic, and a
big back garden, and
behind the back garden was a field, just like Thelma and
John's
house. The big difference is their house does not have
a river nearby. I
love fishing.
Staff Notice.
The boys' original home was about 200 yards away from
a backwater of the River Test. They had regular medical
checks, and vaccinations, and that is how we found their
names, from their records.
Tim
We lived
with our original keeper for over 5 years. We had him
nicely trained, I
would
wake him up early in the morning, just about dawn, and
he would feed
us.
Gypsy
I slept
on the bottom of the bed, while you were nearby.
Tim
All either
of us had to do was scratch on the door, and he would
let us in or out.
Thelma
and John are getting the idea with that, but all the doors
are double
glazed
glass, so they can't always hear. They should be constantly
watching.
Gypsy
I think
they are coming on though. When the stairs were being
painted we were
carried up and down,
while the paint was wet, and we get fishy tasting cat
food
rather
than meat now.
Tim
Anyway
back to the story, we were very happy there, we could
come and go
pretty
much as we pleased. Neighbours were not too friendly,
but were not
there very
often. We had no TV, but that didn't matter.
Gypsy
Yes, remember
how scared we were when we first saw TV at Thelma and
John's?
Tim
Here it's
much more fun with neighbours. The dog on the other side
of the fence
can't climb,
and can't get under, so we sit on our side and call to
him.
Gypsy
Anyway
life was very pleasant, until one afternoon we came home,
and we
could not
get in. We scratched and called, but nothing happened.
We stayed
out or the first time
ever that night. Scary.
Staff Notice. As soon
as it starts to get dark the boys appear at the door,
waiting to come in. Depending on the time of year, this
may be before or after the evening feed, but neither
one makes more than a token request to go out at night.
Tim
Next morning
same thing, we were getting hungry by then. We started
to hunt
for our
food. I caught some, but was not over keen on the taste.
Gypsy
I was less
successful, had to scavenge from dustbins at times. This
went on for
two weeks,
then some strangers appeared at our home, but we were
scared
and hid.
Staff notice. The boys
first owner. was taken ill suddenly, and died in hospital
without regaining consciousness. He had no close family,
lived alone, so it was about two weeks before anyone
went into the house, and then the cats' food bowls were
discovered. Cat Protection was contacted.
Tim
I kept well out of
the way.
Gypsy
They produced
some food, I was really hungry, and they looked like nice
people, so I went
up to see them.
Tim
I watched
from the bushes, and I did not like what I saw. They stroked
your
fur, then
grabbed you and put you in a cage. Then you were taken
away. I fled.
Gypsy
I was put
in a small cage, and that went into a car. We sat there
for ages while
they tried to get
you, then they gave up, and drove off with me in the car.
Tim
And that's where we
finish episode 1?
Gypsy
Yes, me
in cage, in a car being driven away from my home, and
you hiding
outside.
Tim
Thing that
interests me most, is where is Ann going to put this,
first as it's
episode
1, or fourth, when it was written?.
Gypsy
Say Goodnight
Timmy.
Tim
When are
the Timmy Toys reaching the shops?
Gyp searching hopefully for a few fish
in his"new" garden
OK. Its
the final linking episode, before we re-start on life with
Thelma and
John.
Tim
This is the
part of our life together I didnt like.
Gypsy
We finished
the last part with me in cage, in a car being driven away
from my
home, and
you hiding outside. We went for quite a long time in the
car, I dont
ever remember
being in one before, so I just hunkered down in the cage.
After
a while
the car stopped, the cage was taken out, and I was carried
to a much
larger cage. They let
me out of the little cage and I walked out into the bigger
cage. There
was food. I ate the lot.
Tim
After you
had gone I came out of hiding. I managed to catch my supper,
and I
went to sleep. I was
rather worried, as you were not there to protect, and help
out if trouble
came. Next day I saw some food in the garden, I went for
it as
there was no one about.
Just as I started eating something came down over me.
hissed and
spat, but I was grabbed and put in a small cage, and taken
off to join
you.
Gypsy
By now Id
had all the food I could eat. Then you turned up, causing
trouble. I
got grabbed and had
some horrible worming tablets pushed down my throat.
Thelma and
John continue that tradition, but I make it difficult for
them.
Tim
Dont
know what you are complaining about, they did the same thing
to me.
Gypsy
They did
me twice.
Staff Note. Gypsy had a
very bad infestation of worms, and was under-weight when
he arrived at the Cat Protection shelter. Since then he
has not been under-weight, nor has he any intention of
joining weight-watchers.
Tim
There was
another cat in the next cage. I complained.
Gypsy
You complained
so much they moved us into a small cage away from the
others.
Staff Note. Tim does not
get on with other cats, apart from Gyp, so the boys had
to be put in a cage away from the other pens, unfortunately
this was a single pen. Cat Protection did not want to
split the boys up. They had all their Vets records, and
knew that they were true brothers.
Tim
It was Spring-time
when we went there.
Gypsy
Then came
Summer, Autumn (Fall for those not fortunate enough to be
born
British),
and Winter, and we were still there.
Tim
Thats right blame
me.
Gypsy
Everytime
anyone came you started hissing and spitting at them.
Tim
Well one
of them tried to pick me up.
Gypsy
Eight months
we were in that cage, all through the snow, and cold until
Thelma,
John and
Madeleine turned up.
Tim
At least
they had some respect, and kept their distance.
Gypsy
I got stroked.
Tim
Then they
went away.
Staff Notice. The boys spent
over 8 months waiting at the sanctuary as Cat Protection
did not want to split them. They still huddle together
when upset, like when the decorator came to paint their
house. Tim does not like young children, and bonds with
one person initially. After a while he starts to befriend
others in the family. Gyps is the family pet, and could
have been re-homed twenty times during his time at the
sanctuary. Tim had bonded with the lady who ran the sanctuary,
and was beginning to accept her husband.
Gypsy
It was now
the end of January. It was very cold, we had heated pads
to sit on,
but you kept
pushing me off mine. It was snowing, we had not had any
exercise
for months. The Cat
Protection lady put a cage in our pen. I got straight in.
Tim
I stayed
on the heated pad.
Gypsy
After a while
the cage was put in the car and off I went.
Tim
The lady
came back after about a hour, and put the cage in the pen.
I ignored it
for several hours, then
I heard her say her husband would scruff me into the
cage when
he got home. I got in the cage. Cage lifted into car, and
I was off. A
short drive, cage lifted
out of car, taken into a house, into a room upstairs. You
were already
there.
Gypsy
Yep, it was warm, there
was plenty of food, and somewhere soft to sit.
Tim
And it was
bigger than the pen. I went straight behind the bed. When
the
humans had gone, I came
out for food, not that you had left much.
Gypsy
I never intend
to be hungry again. I was soon at home, whenever they came
in I
got stroked,
and spoken to. John even tried to make friends with you.
Tim
After a couple
of days he started passing cat treats down the back of the
bed, .
after a while I started
taking them from his hand, then I came up onto the bed to
get them, and the rest
is in episode 3
Gypsy
Now we can
start work on our life with Thelma, John, and Madeleine.
Say