REAL LIFE
Deborah Hodge made the ultimate demonstration of commitment to her favourite pet…
For Deborah Hodge, the special bond she shares with her moggy India knows no limits.
Faced with the prospect of having to give away her beloved cat, she “married” her feline best friend in an intimate ceremony.
Deborah says, “India is fundamentally the most important thing in my life after my children. I could never be separated from her, so making things official by getting married means we can never be torn apart. The ceremony was a way of showing everyone how much India means to me.”
HEARTBREAK
Mum-of-four and animal lover Deborah, 50, has suffered heartbreak over the years after having to re-home three animals due to landlords not allowing pets inside their homes.
Her much-loved huskies, Siri and Starshine, were re-homed when she moved to a small flat, and so was her cat, Jamal, when the landlord told her she couldn’t keep her. She says, “I had to give Jamal to a friend, but by the time the landlord had relented and said we could have him back, my friend refused to return him. She’s an ex-friend now.”
Single parent Deborah bought India, now five, a black and white British short hair cat, to share the flat in Sidcup, Kent, where she lived with her youngest daughter, Amelia, now 10. She says, “We adored her immediately and she slotted right into the family. She was so friendly and amazing.”
But tragedy struck in 2020 when India had to have a leg amputated after she was knocked down by a car. Deborah says, “It didn’t stop her from doing anything. She came on holiday with us and everyone adored her. She loves a fuss and is so happy.”
WORRIED
However, when Deborah lost her job as a life coach in March 2022, she worried she’d have to move – and what that would mean for India.
She says, “I’d already had to give up some of my beloved pets and I couldn’t do that again. If we ended up moving, I wanted to lay down a marker to show any potential new landlord my unwavering commitment to India.
“And that’s when I had the idea that if we were married, they couldn’t separate us.”
So in April 2022, Deborah arranged for a friend –a legally-qualified celebrant –to carry out the civil ceremony on a sunny afternoon in a park in London.
Five guests and baffled passers-by watched as she got hitched to India, who was draped in gold lamé.
Deborah recalls, “India meowed loudly in all the right places during the vows. The ceremony wasn’t religious, but it was spiritual.
We promised to be together always.
