In 1980, the Potter family owned a pet cat of an unspecified variety. Harry Potter very nearly killed this cat riding a toy broomstick given to him by his godfather, Sirius Black; instead, he accidentally smashed a vase given to James and Lily by Lily's sister Petunia. Lily wrote to Sirius about this incident in a letter that would later be found by Harry at Sirius's house in London. The cat likely either perished in Godric's Hollow on the same night as James and Lily or fled when there was nobody left to feed it, as supposed by Harry when he learned of its existence.