Meowee the fluffy toy cat had been hugged so hard that its pink fur frayed and her body flopped.
But despite the beloved toy’s fragility, she represented a strong bond between Richard Kent and his daughter Chloe.
This is why mum Gemma, 39, has sought the help of experts on BBC1’s the Repair Shop tonight, hoping to preserve the cat for more cuddles to come.
She explains Meowee first belonged to her husband Richard, 33, who tragically passed away in 2018 after a battle with bowel cancer.
Gemma says: “He was given Meowee at a very young age, she was his bear until he was too old for her but it was put into storage somewhere.
“And then, when Chloe was born, he gave it to her.”
Chloe, nine, immediately became attached to the toy, never going anywhere without her.
Gemma, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, says: “Over the years, she’s been a little bit bruised. She’s been with her all her life, from when she was in a buggy all the way up to now.”
But in the last month of Richard’s life, Chloe, then five, did something so selfless that her father was shocked.
She gave the toy back to her dad, hoping it might make him feel better.
Gemma says: “He was quite overwhelmed. He couldn’t quite believe that she was giving her back. But I think it actually brought him a lot of comfort, because it was almost a bit of his own childhood back.
“But it also comforted him because it’s a bit of Chloe with him as well.”
When Richard died, Meowee took on a greater importance to Chloe too as it brought her closer to her dad.
Gemma says: “The relationship between her and Meowee became even stronger that she wouldn’t leave or sleep without it.”
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So, handing the toy over to the barn’s bear ladies Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch to be repaired was difficult for Chloe and her mother.
Gemma says: “It was really quite strange. I felt the gap in the house, which sounds pathetic to say it because it’s only a toy.
“But we both felt that kind of gap. It was a big part of Richard that had gone. We both really missed Meowee.”
Thankfully, the absence was with good reason as the toy is restored.
Meowee gets a new inner lining to help strengthen its ageing seams as well as new stuffing in its sagging limbs.
Upon seeing her old friend, Chloe is delighted. She says: “I’m really happy, she looks brand new. I feel as though I can’t let go. I just want to cuddle her for the rest of my life.”
- The Repair Shop, Friday night, 8pm, BBC1.
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