@LunarSea. OH and I have decided not to have another cat. We don’t want this responsibility as we can’t guarantee that we can keep our promise until the end of a new cat. But I’m not cat-free. I take care of a streetcat who needs to be fed every day. But this cabe shared with neighbours.
He is probably the first street cat that lives in its own cat house and gets a hot-water bottle if temperature is below zero 🤨
Give it a week or two, you'll be ready to make a home for a new friend. When we lost our last one (Harry) we vowed not to have another cat. We lasted two months and have now had Harry for 10 wonderful years.
Ooops! That should have read Murphy. Good job he wasn't watching.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
What a loving, caring and understanding thread. Losing pets is a part of animal ownership we experience. We know it's what to expect eventually but it's bloomin' hard to go through all the same. Sending love and hugs to all feeling so sad right now. xx
All our cats have been rescues of one sort or another, One time we took on 3 unwanted farm kittens and ended up with a total of 6 cats. One of them was had presumably been dumped as he turned up on our doorstep in a very sorry state, full of cat flu. We got him to the vet and he made a full recovery, spending the rest of his years as Bonus the boiler cat!
We already had another cat who came to us at the same time as Ambrose, but we agreed to take another too, as her owner was dying of cancer. Her son is one of my daughter's friends and he brought her to us just before Christmas. We had a shock when we opened the box.
First there was a little face and then this huge blob - she was completely round! Her tummy brushed the ground as she walked and a huge shawl of fat hid her legs, so she looked as if she was moving on castors. She weighed in at 1st 3lbs/ 7.7 k.
She came with a supply of dried food and little tins of salmon and must have divided her time between eating and being cuddled. It was a shame as she is a beautiful orange totoiseshell with lovely amber eyes. She had the most tremendous yowl and used it at both our cat and the two dogs. Suki mostly ignored her, but will now share my bed with her. The dogs however were terrified and still won't pass her in a doorway!
Fortunately she likes the garden and will come out side with me for a walk and she has to go up and down stairs a lot. Salmon now comes in pouches and a modified diet and more exercise means she has lost a lot of the blob. It was a bit like archeologists uncovering a statue - first we saw cheekbones, then a neck. Then we felt shoulder blades, then discovered a spine and thighbones. Her tummy is well clear of the ground now and she can jump more easily and even runs sometimes.
She now fits through the cat flap so can do her own thing as she wants and when she sits on my knee it is because she wants to, not just her duty. Last night for the first time she came to sit in the same room with the dogs, on their chair while they were on the sofa with me. Ambrose would quite happily sit with them, on my knees. Maybe one day she will too.
I was a died-in-the-wool dog person until a feral cat at Mellors' place had kittens. I took all three and it was life changing. Turns out I didn't dislike cats, I was terrified of them. They are an absolute delight and in my bleaker moments they bring me calm. I love them more than I could ever have imagined.
I didn't do anything differently yesterday. I still was on watch to bring
her into the garden, picking her up from the garden. Up and down the
stairs, several times a day. I try to understand that I no longer have to buy cat food and cat litter, no longer find cat litter all over the bathroom, no cleaning of the bowls as I have done it in the last 30 years for both cats.
Shortly after I came with my cat to the UK in February 2007, OH and I went to Billingsgate in March and bought a whole salmon, a box of rainbow trout, a box of sardines, and a box with prawns. My cat and I were not used to this luxury. She didn't trust her eyes seeing what was laying there on the table and that clearly smelled like fish. 2 days later, OH had to go to a 2 weeks business trip, and my cat and I were on our own. After work, I opened the freezer and took out two pieces of salmon. What did we enjoy eating the salmon. Next day again, and again, and did so day by day. After 2 weeks, we had enough. We could no longer see salmon. OH came back, opened the freezer and was wondering, "where is the salmon? There was a whole salmon here." We still tell that story at least once a year, "do you remember when you both ate a whole salmon inside two weeks?"
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But I’m not cat-free. I take care of a streetcat who needs to be fed every day. But this cabe shared with neighbours.
I ♥ my garden.
Ooops! That should have read Murphy. Good job he wasn't watching.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Sending love and hugs to all feeling so sad right now.
xx
I try to understand that I no longer have to buy cat food and cat litter, no longer find cat litter all over the bathroom, no cleaning of the bowls as I have done it in the last 30 years for both cats.
Shortly after I came with my cat to the UK in February 2007, OH and I went to Billingsgate in March and bought a whole salmon, a box of rainbow trout, a box of sardines, and a box with prawns.
My cat and I were not used to this luxury. She didn't trust her eyes seeing what was laying there on the table and that clearly smelled like fish.
2 days later, OH had to go to a 2 weeks business trip, and my cat and I were on our own. After work, I opened the freezer and took out two pieces of salmon. What did we enjoy eating the salmon. Next day again, and again, and did so day by day. After 2 weeks, we had enough. We could no longer see salmon.
OH came back, opened the freezer and was wondering, "where is the salmon? There was a whole salmon here."
We still tell that story at least once a year, "do you remember when you both ate a whole salmon inside two weeks?"
I ♥ my garden.