Fester Cat

Fester Cat was, despite his older age, an exuberant cat, who adopted Paul Magrs and Jeremy the year after they moved into their home on Chestnut Avenue. He was the first cat that Paul had, as his Mam refused to let him have a cat during his childhood, and his student years were too hectic for Paul to feasibly look after one. He was able to communicate with others non-verbally, and he was able to to write stories. During the final month of Fester's life, Fester began to write a book, The Story of Fester Cat, about his life with Paul and Jeremy. As he wasn't able to finish it, Paul took the time to complete it.

When he lived with one of his previous owners, she mistook Fester for a girl and called him Paula. (PROSE: The Story of Fester Cat) One source styled his name as Fester the cat. (PROSE: Party Fears Two)

Early life
Fester was born sometime in 1995 in Levenshulme, and he knew Aunty Bessy, a stray cat, since he was a kitten. In his second home, Fester lived with a Spanish woman, who thought Fester was a girl. He would eventually leave this woman, and become a stray.

In early 2006, he, Bessy, and a semi-stray cat called Korky banded together. Korky would often fetch food from his house, and share it with Fester and Bessy. (PROSE: The Story of Fester Cat)

Adopting Paul and Jeremy
Fester was twelve years old when he first saw Paul Magrs - it was late one night in 2006, when Paul was putting milk bottles outside his home when Paul spotted Fester, Korky, and Bessy. Soon, Fester developed an interest in Paul and his partner Jeremy, and he visited the couple regularly, slowly building up a friendship with Paul and Jeremy over the course of a few months. By September, Fester had properly moved in. Soon, while Fester was relaxing on top of Paul and Jeremy's Škoda, Fester's previous owner spotted him. She thought that he was a girl, so she referred to Fester as "Paula", but instead of taking Fester to her home, she told Paul that she was happy that "Paula" was safe. Not long later, Jeremy took Fester to a vet in Levenshulme, and there he was microchipped, and a lady vet accidentally humiliated Fester over his lack of bollocks. Over Christmas, he and his humans were visited by many friends, and Fester got worms.

In 2007, Bessy moves into Fester's home, despite Fester objecting. Several weeks later, Fester has the remaining, damaged stumps of his teeth surgically removed, which enables Fester to eat his food with newfound frivolity. Paul, Jeremy, and Panda (another resident of Paul and Jeremy's home) go holiday to Manhattan, and Fester stays at home, with Karen and Nick regularly coming in to check on him. When they returned, things became increasingly tense between Paul and Jeremy, due to Jeremy's obsession with his work. Soon, Smokey was attacked by an Alastian, and Fester spent the next few weeks listening out for him, as Korky had retreated into his home, all confidence lost.

In the Summer of 2008, Fester is taken to Mr Joe's vet due to going feverish for several days. Fester was diagnosed with having an infection in his thyroid gland. So Fester was put on a treatment of daily tablets, which Fester disliked eating, so Paul had to cover them in chicken liver pâté. Time passes, and Fester realises how much has chenged in the past few years, as several cats he used to see regularly haven't been seen in months, many of the empty houses in his area have been renovated, bringing in new, unfamiliar people, and more. In the late Summer, Paul temporarily left home, to break Jeremy out of his obsession with work, and Fester spent the time worrying about Paul and doing tasks around the home to try to applease Paul. In the Autumn, Fester gained a rival, the seemingly cute-but-actually-vicious Ralph. After Fester was bitten by Ralph, and the area became infected, Paul helped shoo Ralph away from Fester. (PROSE: The Story of Fester Cat)

Writing The Story of Fester Cat
In early March, 2013, as Fester had a taste for writing after he wrote some reviews on Paul's blog, Fester decided to write about his life. (PROSE: The Story of Fester Cat) That month, Paul suggested to Fester that he ought to write a short story to help publicise his book; Fester wrote this sotry, choosing to write about one of his first Christmasses with Paul, Jeremy, and Panda. (PROSE: Fester and the Christmas Mouse) Later that month, on a Thursday, it was Jeremy's 46th birthday, and many of his friends came around. The following day, Fester didn't feel well, so Paul talked to him about Fester's life, memorising the detail. Just after Jeremy's Birthday, Fester had a stroke. Paul and Jeremy took Fester to a special vet, and while the journey was stressful, Paul and Jeremy comforted Fester on the way there, singing to him. At the vet, after a while of talking, a female vet euthanised Fester, letting Fester fall asleep. Fester, in his final moments, had an immaterial, spiritual journey back home... In the following days, after Paul and Jeremy cried for days on end, Paul finishes the book that Fester started. (PROSE: The Story of Fester Cat)

Afterlife
In his afterlife, Fester looked over Paul, Jeremy, Panda, and their new cat, Bernard Socks. (PROSE: Welcome Home, Bernard Socks)

Undated events
At some point, Fester the cat, Paul, and Jeremy travelled to Brenda Soobie's party in Las Vegas 1967. There, Fester the cat was fussed over by a group of motorcyclists while they exchanged stories. (PROSE: Party Fears Two)

Personality
Fester was proud and energetic. He described himself as being a "materialist and a realist", and he liked to annoy Bessy by being optimistic. Being a cat, Fester had a laid-back attitude to the concept of life, understanding its complexities - however, he remained sceptical that Santa Claus and Panda were real, breathing individuals, even when overwhelming evidence was presented to him. (PROSE: The Story of Fester Cat) However, he later accepted that Santa and Panda were real. (PROSE: Fester and the Christmas Mouse)

When Paul told Fester about his Brenda and Effie books, Fester found the concept of the Bride of Frankenstein running a B&B in Whitby and solving supernatural mysteries with her neighbour completely straightforward, and had trouble imagining why anybody else would think differently. (PROSE: The Story of Fester Cat)

Appearance
While he was a stray, Fester had dirty, matted fur, and was flea-ridden. He only had one-and-a-half teeth, with embedded stumps of his missing teeth slowly rotting away in his mouth (until they were eventually removed). Because of his lack of teeth, Fester's lip curled, which Paul likened to Elvis.

Fester was black and white in colour, and he had a little black patch above his lip which Louise likened to a Hitler moustache - she dubbed him as a "Kitler" cat. Fester had a "Special Spot" underneath his chin, which he loved to have tickled. The spot was incidentally where his thyroid gland was located. (PROSE: The Story of Fester Cat)