August 22, 2007
Wittle Brudder
Simon called me at six last night to ask which flavor of kitten I would like from the nest of ferals he'd just discovered in the bushes next to his boss's house. For the last year or so we've been in the habit of referring to all kittens that cross our path as "Templeton Marmalade," imagining that if we eventually came upon a kitten that was both unattached and orange, we would take him home with us to live forever and ever.
Simon passed over the ginger one with the goopy eye in favor of a gray one (still Templeton, but probably not Marmalade) and took him to the vet for an assessment. Turns out he was too young to be away from his littermates, having not yet learned the Cat Rules of Social Conduct, so after spending an evening queued in the waiting room while rapidly falling in love with the animal that fit in one big hand, Simon returned the little guy to the tumble of furry arms and legs from whence he had come, the whole pile scheduled for transport to a safe place first thing in the morning.
Aside from conjuring adoption announcements along the lines of "Oh hai. I iz in ur famly now," you should've seen the handwringing, heard the desperate telepathic apologies to my first-born for the sibling that was about to befall her in a ball of pinprick teeth and fluff. It's hard to prepare a six-year-old for that kind of life change on such short notice. Even more so when she doesn't understand English.
I've lived in multiple-cat households for most of my life, so I know how much of a non-issue it is, save for those times when they try to bite each other's heads off at the neck stalk. And although I realized it would mean more feeding and watering, more litterboxing, and more promises of fancy restaurant meals to entice potential catsitters, my angst was less about practical logistics than about hurting the feelings of the current cat, the queen of the pad, mama's little sentient being who, really, truly, thinks she's people.
Granted, I was a kid who felt bad about replacing old toys with new ones, but I also grew into an adult who, just two days ago felt a little pang of...well, anguish at throwing away a pair of old socks that had holes in the toes and heels but represented so many good times past. Perhaps I read The Giving Tree one too many times? Perhaps I need someone to explain the whole animate/inanimate thing again?
Questions of my sanity aside, it was a strange, strange thing to sit on the couch last night, Eve draped over my belly and purring ungraceful as a tractor, and wonder if my emotional net could stretch to accomodate another one like her. There are cats out there who barely acknowledge their humans, but the one we have here is something special; she's a pet, a pal, a kid. What if the new one were as special, as needy, as demanding? And worse, what if he wasn't? What if he didn't care? What if he acted like--gasp--a regular cat.
You already know the end of the story--Simon returned this Templeton to his brothers and sisters before either Eve or I laid eyes on him--and we remain a happy one-cat family. Whether it will last is hard to say, but I wonder how it would've/will turn(ed) out. More play-biting, that's for sure, although maybe not all of it directed at my ankles.
Posted by Leah at August 22, 2007 03:35 PMI spend entirely too much time lavishing affection on the dog and wishing we could clone three more just like her. Maybe with an anti-shedding feature this time.
Posted by: Moose at August 22, 2007 04:10 PMI can't even let myself think about getting another cat, since we have two and they are plenty to keep us busy and happy. But I do have a tender place for orange kitties, and if one fell in my lap I might have a hard time resisting.
Your house is big enough for two kitties even if they don't end up getting along. Ours isn't, so we're lucky that they (mostly) do.
Posted by: Emily at August 22, 2007 04:26 PMAw. My kitty had to be put to sleep three years ago at the age of 12 and I am missing having a kitty around something fierce. My dog is fantastic, but I want a kitty, too. Alas, my roommate is allergic, and I have to wait until I no longer live with him.
Posted by: Ky Eliza at August 22, 2007 06:46 PMit is totally worth it. ours don't always get along, but they do love each other... sort of... in that pissy cat way.
Posted by: jeorg at August 22, 2007 07:02 PMI would ammend Emily's post to say "Your HEART is big enough for two kitties even if they don't get along."
Been there, done that and I loved the furry ride. Good luck.
Posted by: cardiogirl at August 23, 2007 03:35 AMOh, trust me. There is always enough love for one more. (I have enough love for about twenty billion more, but that's because I'm crazy.) We have a cat who's around ten years old, and we've introduced her to a huge rambunctious dog and a clingy nervy tom cat, and will eventually get another dog. She's adjusted, and it's so fun seeing how they interact. And surprisingly, there's still plenty of one-on-one time with each of them. And I think it's impossible to have a "regular" cat. Surely there is no such thing.
I hope the kittens find safe, happy homes!
Posted by: karamarie at August 23, 2007 07:30 AMI also just adopted an orange kitty (currently staying at a friends house as opposed to my own due to living with the parentals at the moment) for the same reason as that..."The next time an orange kitty is in need of a new mommy....". My best friends cat just had kittens 3 weeks ago. So I have Emileo, first in the litter of 5. He knows his mamma too...he will nuzzle my face while I kiss his tiny little head. He sniffs my nostrils and sniffs my mouth and it's precious :) Convinced? hehe
Posted by: Stephanie Brown at August 23, 2007 09:14 AMI have so much trouble throwing out socks! It is unreal how difficult I find it... someone has to convince me, every time, that the new pairs will more than make up for the absence of the old ones.
Posted by: Tricia at August 23, 2007 11:15 AMI know how you feel, I very much want a second kitty but am worried both that our current queen of the house will hate sharing attention and that we won't be lucky (or unlucky) enough to get another kitty who is incapable of being aloof.
Posted by: watersign at August 23, 2007 01:14 PMIf you hadn't started this entry by saying thos kittens were just found, I would have said the "ginger with the goopy eye" is the cat I just adopted a couple of months ago. FTR, it's caused by FHV-1 (cat herpes), which almost all of these found cats have (including mine). Unfortunately, once it gets in the eye, it's there forever. It's not transferable but the cat will sneeze and break out in colds fairly often.
It's kind of a pain because Julius (my meowser) is going to be on antihistamines and the occasional banana flavoured round of antibiotics (shouldn't they make them friskas flavoured?) for the rest of his life. I can afford it, but the vet visits of more than once a year are a PITA. Still, I love him, and can't give him back. Plus, he is very cool and affectionate.
Posted by: monkey at August 23, 2007 01:26 PMThat's the other thing I was worried about, Monkey. Taking in a feral can be all kinds of expensive, not to mention dangerous to the other, healthy cat. Honestly, we might have kept the kitten were it not for the whole "he needs to be quarantined from your other cat until he's had the whole panel of kitten vaccinations, i.e., twelve weeks" thing.
Posted by: Leah at August 23, 2007 02:04 PMYeah, and to clarify, I mean cat herpes is not transferable to YOU, but it does spread amongst cats so your first one could be at risk.
Again, can't say for sure but "goopy eye" and the discussion I had with the vet about how prevalent this is amongst feral finds-thought I'd let you know.
Seeing as you just bought an (awesome!) house, I figure I'd pipe up about the Clavamox cocktails and $70 vet visits I have to make once in a while.
Posted by: monkey at August 23, 2007 03:45 PMAwww. I was so worried that my queen of crazy was going to completely regret the new kitten when I brought her home on a whim. Punk had had free reign of it all for a year and she was (and still is) very demanding but laid back in a way.
She hated the new cat for about 2-3 days and then mama bear came out. Seriously. She loves and lickes and grooms Gabby and then knocks her on her ass to keep her in line. Not a day goes by that I don't hear the Gabby squeal. (and Gabby, the little one, demands so much more attention by way of being the talker.)
It's possible to do it and the love will be there. It'll just be different. But so much fun.
