At the start of April, we had some sad news – our rescue cat Mia, who had been with us for nine years, succumbed to cancer after a short but difficult battle. This was one of the last photos I took of her, back in November 2024.
Mia lived with my partner from Feburary 2016, a few months before I started my photography journey. As well as being a fierce, food-mativated, but friendly companion, my partner describes Mia as my muse, since she was my first regular subject when I started taking an interest in photography.
Mia’s very first day with us. She was very nervous and wouldn’t come out from under the sofa until I’d gone!
When she passed away, I put together a gallery of my favourite images, and it was both a wonderful tale of a life well lived, and an insight into my journey as a photographer. The above image was taken on my camera phone, before I even had access to a camera.
Mia would often sit on my lap while I watched TV.
Mia was the most food-motivated cat I’ve ever met. We got her from Cats Protection in West Sussex, and she had been rehomed as a result of some difficult circumstances. We think that she wasn’t fed regularly as a kitten, and this gave her anxiety around when she would next eat. Until her last days, she would seek out any food she could find – from attempting to stealing food from our plates to scavenging in the bin for leftovers.
To slow down her eating speed, we learned to make feeding time a game. In the image above-left you can see her reaching for a biscuit that I’d hidden on top of the fridge. In the above-right image is a typical scene in the flat, with Mia waiting/stalking my partner until she’d finished her food so that she would lick out the bowl.
Luckily for me, she became a natural model over time. As long as she had been fed, she would happily pose for me. Just look at those pictures above!
She wasn’t the most playful cat in the world, but she definitely loved a good fight. We used to play a game of “boxing”, where I would put one finger near her, and if she was in the mood she would “box” it away without any claws. She also loved stalking and hunting string, and chasing the red light from a light pen.
Mia was very much the queen of the house, and she wasn’t afraid to let you know. If you dared to move when she was sat comfortably on your lap, you would get a telling-off!
Although she was primarily an indoor cat, she became more and more comfortable sitting outside in the sun while my partner did some gardening. She developed a friendship with a small dog that lived nearby, and as she became more confident, we would sometimes have to walk with her to make sure she didn’t stray too far from the flat. Despite that, if anything spooked her, she would run straight back in through the open front door and go and sit on the sofa.
We nicknamed her “Asbo-cat” because she wasn’t always fond of guests, and would sometimes hiss or swipe at them if they got too close. Despite that, after a couple of visits she’d very happily be sitting on their lap! If all else failed, a few Dreamies always seemed to stop her antisocial behaviour!
So this is my tribute to nine wonderful years of feline friendship. I’m so grateful for the time we spent together and my partner and I miss her greatly. The flat doesn’t feel the same without her presence.
Thank you Mia – you were very much a one of one.
