Kangaroo Valley village holds funeral for beloved general store cat Skeeter

Kangaroo Valley has gathered to bid farewell to a village icon — a good man, known for his love of newspapers and his habit of boldly crossing the road without looking. He was also a cat.

The tiny town of Kangaroo Valley is in mourning. On Saturday, the close-knit south coast community gathered to bid farewell to a village icon – a good man, known for his love of newspapers and his habit of boldly crossing the road without looking.

Oh, and he was also a cat.

A four-legged, mouse chasing, sun lounging cat. He wasn’t a nice cat. In fact, he was known to bite everyone who met him.

That didn’t matter. Scores of locals and visitors crammed into Kangaroo Valley General Store to pay their respects to Skeeter, a 14-year-old, “pain in the arse”, who strolled into the town general store more than 10 years ago and never left.

One local man read a poem written from the perspective of his dog Josie, who had an ongoing feud with Skeeter.

The village of Kangaroo Valley held a funeral to celebrate the life of beloved cat ‘Skeeter’.

Vale Skeeter – a grumpy cat that stole the heart of thousands.

The crowd of nearly 50 listened carefully, tears in their eyes as they sipped their champagne.

Some wore T-shirts, depicting the eternally cranky cat.

It has left shop owner Nicole Schwegler baffled. She and her husband Mark purchased the store eight years ago. When they signed they contract, there was one condition – the cat stays.

Kangaroo Valley residents gathered to bid farewell to a village icon, the town cat Skeeter.

“We didn’t always see eye-to-eye … he’d quite often sit on the newspapers and swipe everybody that took a newspaper. He would be hiding behind something and swipe somebody if they took a loaf of bread,” said Ms Schwegler.

“There was a lot of signs up around the shop about Skeeter. Warning he is a grumpy old cat and he could bite.

“He really didn’t like children.”

People crammed into the local general store to pay tribute to Skeeter. Picture: Supplied

One local wore a T-shirt depicting Skeeter to the funeral. Picture: Supplied

“I’ve had a lady come in and say that she bought a house in the Valley because of Skeeter,” she said.

“People used to come down from Sydney and say they came for him every time.

“I guess it didn’t mean a lot to me until just now. We’re realising that I think he was literally therapy for people.

A flyer announcing Skeeter’s death. The 14-year-old cat died, “peacefully” in his sleep.

“There was a gentleman Chris that would come in and he would put money into a little money box for Skeeter. After he died, his partner continued to come in.”

“He was the first local I met when I moved here four years ago. I told my husband, ‘we must live here because there is a cat lying on the newspapers in the general store’ … it was little bit confronting initially but because you’re not used to it from Sydney.

“He was a staple of the Valley,” Ms Greenwood said.

On social media, tributes flowed for the feline. Many would travel from all across the country just to see the cat who would very likely bite them.

The general store cat in Kangaroo Valley has died – and the community came out on Saturday to pay its respects.

“My daughter has loved visiting Skeeter since she was seven years old. This was last weekend when we did a quick trip down from Queensland. He’ll be missed,” said Jillian Blakeley-Boyce from Queensland.

“Took shocking risks with the road but got away with it every time! And forget trying to get a paper if Skeeter was sitting on them … he will be sadly missed,” Anne Walder added.

So vale Skeeter. A cat that according to Ms Schwegler “hated nice comfy bedding”, loved lying in places that would upset health inspectors, and always guarded the newspapers.

A nasty cat who stole her and thousands of other people’s hearts.

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