Cat which inspired $1m gift

Jacque McEwan with Rocket, a cat close to Betty Napier's heart. Picture / Fotopress

The Tauranga cat which inspired a $1 million donation to the SPCA has a habit of landing on his feet.

Black and white part-persian Rocket has used up all his nine lives - "and then some," says Jim McEwan, whose family shared the pet with friend and neighbour Betty Napier until her death this month.

"He has as much steel in him as the bionic man."

Mr McEwan's wife, Jacqueline, was Mrs Napier's god-daughter and the couple helped to care for the bedridden 88-year-old.

Rocket came into their lives a few years ago as a fluffy stray kitten and divided his time between both houses, keeping Mrs Napier company during the day while the McEwans were at work.

"Rocka was very much a part of her life. He's a very intelligent cat and a bit of a character," Mr McEwan said.

The death of her beloved chihuahua Bidget, who went everywhere with Mrs Napier, even to Australia, in her handbag was "a big loss".

Rocket, so named because he ran around the house like a rocket, was dubbed "Rocka" after the American banking Rockefeller family when he chalked up hefty vet bills following a run-in with a car.

Surviving a second bowling earned the adventurous cat the nickname of James Bond - "never say die". The $1m legacy has brought the Rocka moniker back into favour.

The McEwans said yesterday that the widowed Mrs Napier was an only child who had no children of her own. Although she had travelled the world, she was frugal. But she gave regularly to good causes, including the Red Cross, Salvation Army and Women's Refuge - "though nothing over the top like this [the SPCA bequest]".

Raised with "old-fashioned values", Betty Napier was a private person, a gracious lady and, like Rocket, fiercely independent.