I'm looking for help from French friends, and friends with French friends to try to find out who used to own this cat. The cat pictured moved in with me in Paris in the winter of 2004, after howling under my window.
He was in pretty bad shape, so I fed him, brushed him, and tried to find his owner. I did not succeed, and when my Mom died in 2005, I moved back to Canada for a while and took the cat with me to my father's house. The cat loved it. He lived there for five years, until he became too ill and we had to put him to sleep.
He had a partial tattoo in his ear that showed he had been neutered in 1989, and was 20-21 years old when he died. The rest of the tattoo was too blurry and broken to read. I've always wondered if someone missed him, and would like to try again to find out where he belonged, so if he had owners, they can be reassured that he had another five great years in a place with lots of big trees, and mice, and people who loved him.
Despite the female name, Irma La Douce, the cat was male. Breed: Forest Cat. Found November 2004. More photos:
What a great cat. RIP Irma.