Hundreds mourn death of Aviemore cat after ‘tragic incident’
A corner of Aviemore is in mourning today after losing Mango, for so long a friendly face, in ‘a tragic incident’.
Details of the event in Burnside have not been released by the family but hundreds of messages have been posted by horrified social media friends today after vets finally had to concede that the cat was not going to make it after a valiant day-long effort to survive its injuries.
Rachel Paterson, on behalf of the pet’s owners, said: “So many people have come to know Mango on their walks through Burnside, particularly on the school run.
“While she had a home, she loved nothing more than to sit by the path and meet and greet everyone, had people worry she was a ‘stray’ so often we had to put up a sign saying she could see her house from her spot but just loved to see people…”
Mango’s post by the road had gradually been upgraded from cushions to a bucket house, Rachel explained, and then to “a very posh outdoor cat house all gifted to her by the community - quite often along with posh cat food and bottled Evian water .
“Jill Scullion and her partner Jamie Frew had been the ones to donate that to her and have said they'll find a worthy cause for it again.
“We've all grown up with Mango so she was very much a loved family cat, but she remained at home with my parents in Burnside. They don't know her exact age as she had appeared as a stray in their garden about 12 years ago, and unable to locate an owner they opened their doors to her and the rest was history.
“She was estimated at around 14 years old, and had two litters of kittens before being neutered, with one from each litter remaining with my parents and the rest finding loving homes with friends and family.
“The kittens, Molly and Charlie, still live happily at home.”
Despite all the vets’ hard work throughout the day Mango never recovered and her owners “had to say goodbye to her last night.
“She will be sorely missed firstly by her family and by all those who have come to know her and her kind and beautiful soul over the years.
“We've also found that flowers have been left for her this morning, and a group of the local children have had a WhatsApp group on the go talking about her. Amazing that such a small and unassuming little girl made such a big impact.”
“Mango was loved by the entire community,” said friend Laura Hansler, whose son Harris had in his earlier years been among the many to make a special friendship with Mango.
“Harris used to visit the cat and on walks with her. She was like Aviemore’s cat version of Greyfriars Bobby.
“There are so many heartbroken adults and schoolkids today.”
By this morning over 200 comments have been left from those paths had happily crossed Mango’s over the years.
