It was early summer of 2021. I was struggling to find animals to practice my WEBB Bodywork on. All the animals available to me were at least 45 minutes drive away. I needed one closer to home.
One day my prayers were answered. This timid black and white cat appeared in my garden. We got talking and eventually, she let me fuss her. The weather was hot, so my back door was open all day every day. One day she decided to brave my home, only venturing as far as the kitchen at first. A week later she had virtually moved in.
I had no idea where she came from, but I knew, from her condition, she wasn’t a stray. Concerned that Charlie’s guardians would be worrying about her I put a paper collar on her with my contact details. It turned out she lived in the house behind mine, so she didn’t have far to travel. I learnt her name was Charlie and she loved food and was on a diet because an old lady where they used to live kept feeding her. I reassured them that I would not be doing that.
I took advantage of her visits and practised my WEBB Bodywork on her. She loved it. Charlie visited every day for her treatment and would hang around until I was ready to treat her.


Charlie and I spent many hours together. She would receive her WEBB Bodywork and/or healing treatment and then sleep it all off. I absolutely adored her. The more we got to know each other, the more of her personality shone through. Though some of her traits she was happy to show from quite early on. One was that if she didn’t get her way, she would attack my ankles in a fit of frustration, gaining the nickname of Pissypants. I always laughed when she did this, which didn’t go down too well. Charlie loved exploring and helping me work. She even joined me on many of the networking Zoom calls. She learnt she would get some Bodywork if she made enough of a nuisance of herself. No one seemed to object despite some of the strange messages Charlie wrote in the chat box!
During the summer of 2022 Charlie started spending more and more time away. She came to visit me at the beginning of December that year after a spell away. She had lost a lot of weight due to hyperthyroidism, but her personality was still there. She stayed for some treatment and then disappeared. I didn’t see her again until January 2023.
I came home very late one day after an evening meeting to find Charlie huddled up on my footstool. I was a little surprised to see her. She was a mess. Her rear end was covered in mud, her coat was rough, she had lost so much weight, was in a lot of pain and was unable to stand. I panicked and phoned her guardians. I gave her a fuss and a bit of a cuddle before clambering over a garden fence and handing her back to them over a tall fence gate in their garden. Her guardians were in just as much shock as I was with regard to Charlie’s condition and so confused as to how she had ended up in such a state so quickly. I could see they were very upset.
The next day Charlie was put to sleep. It turned out she had tumours in her stomach which must have ruptured when she jumped the garden fence to come and see me. No one could have predicted that.
Without Charlie, I would not have been able to complete the WEBB Bodywork course. She was such a good patient and an excellent tutor. Charlie had an amazing personality and a big heart. I miss her so much.
Thank you, Charlie, for everything. Rest in peace my friend. You will be forever in my heart.