Sorry for your loss Jacob.  Until you meet Dunhill across the Rainbow Bridge.

Really sorry, Jacob.  RIP Dunhill.

I don't often find myself in this thread, but for whatever reason wandered this way today.  Condolences to all of you that have lost a loved one recently.  As Todd said, some times the right thing is hard and for me, whenever a pet passes, I try to remember just how much better a life it had being with one of you than it would have in some other circumstance.  

Oh dear - so sorry about Dunhill. It is tough having to be kind by saying goodbye to cat when it's their time. But it was the right decision Jacob. He had a great life with you and was absolutely well loved.

Thanks everybody. 

Silver and I are adjusting. She seems to have realized that she is Cat. 

I sound insane, I know, and I can’t really explain it. Silver is still Silver: the murder machine, the ball of energy, the skittish cuddle bug. But she knows she is Cat now. Things that used to get a swat, every time, haven’t today, for instance. She has performed outrage; for instance I replaced her collar today, but instead of being under the bed for hours after, she performed indigence and then was Cat.

Also I have consistently outperformed my literature professor partner in Wordle, so maybe I’m just feeling good and reading too much into it. 

This is what I’m dealing with here. Dunhill’s job was to moderate this. 

I won’t be making the equivalent of these of Silver, though. 

Silver sure loves this ribbon. 

We aren’t doing great, either of us. 

Silver and I agree that she doesn’t like being an only cat: she either gets too much attention from me or not enough. Dunhill ran interference on both fronts. 

I’m contemplating getting another cat. It’s complicated: if I end up moving in with Heather there are those cat dynamics. But that’s still in limbo, so I have to think about what is best for Silver. 

She’s a difficult cat. Skittish, doesn’t like other cats. I’ve introduced kittens to adult cats before (this was easy: the adult cats were always deathly afraid of the kitten!), but I’ve never introduced an adult cat to another on a permanent basis (Silver and Dunhill already knew each other). Silver and Heather’s cats don’t get along, though over a series of very careful meetings it was… better the last time we were in NC. But wasn’t permanent. 

One way or another I’m not going to spend the next 10-15 years with just one cat, though, and I can’t take 25 years to get cats to get along, so any recommendations?

Edited March 4, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

New cat Oberon. Chosen by our daughter as a birthday present. Super affectionate neutered tom, a solid 5.2kg (11.5lb) of muscle. 4 years old.

I can't imagine a better birthday present.

Yeah - I was quite emotional. And she organized it while she was in Australia - from https://www.bluecross.org.uk/oxfordshire-burford-rehoming-centre . She couldn't have chosen a better cat. He's super affectionate and after two days is now exploring the house

She has a motto in her bedroom "A home without a cat is just a house".

In Australia she has three cats , and a dog. Two are indoor cats, and the outdoor one is a murder specialist. Possums are found on their decking minus heads. They have no idea where the heads go (probably best not to ask). He once tackled a goanna (these grow up to 6 feet long); the lizard won and resulted in a big vet's bill to repair the cat. That hasn't discouraged him, clearly.

I bet he could have taken the lizard if it were just 5 and a half feet. 

Jacob, don't have an answer to your 1-cat or 2-cat question.  When in doubt, I always would try to merge cats into a household.  But do it as carefully as possible.

But that said, I tried that when my first cat was older (7 or 8 years of being 1-cat with me).  There was an adult cat I tried to bring in, keeping them separated in different areas (and the new cat in a room not used by my cat).  In the end, there was still too much hissing and scratching, with nearly a nasty vet bill once had I not used a couch pillow to split them up....

I had to bring the new cat to a no-kill shelter with a large donation.  I cried on the way home....

Awwwww. I’m sorry. But I’m sure that gato got to a home that worked. I am hoping to avoid that sort of scenario. Silver is just… difficult, and I am the only currently moving creature she seems to like. I fortunately do have different rooms that I can use to segregate them, including two rooms cats aren’t typically allowed into (I use two of my bedrooms for storage: I would consolidate into one).

The first time I went to Heather’s house one of her cats got around me and got into the basement, where the Bingie Cats were located at the time. I used a beanbag chair and my foot (I was wearing sandals and that hurt!) to prevent things from getting worse than they were.

I do think Silver would like another pal, though. 

Edited March 5, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

Apparently this is not how the closets are supposed to work. She had figured out the sliding closets last night, but that closet does not slide.

Edited March 5, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

Still trying to open said closet. I never said she was a brain genius.

Edited March 6, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

Apparently dead cat took it upon himself to keep currently alive cat from opening closet doors. 

I bet I have the child proof latches ordered installed before she figures out that I reversed the sliding closest doors. 

I have had currently alive cat for her entire life, and I’ve gone from not having currently alive cat in my closets to having currently alive cat in all my closets, in the span of three weeks, so clearly Dunhill was earning his kibble. 

Edited March 6, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

.

Edited March 6, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

Silver got her flea/tick treatment.  She now lives under the couch. I hope this isn’t permanent, but I’m okay with it if she doesn’t try to open closets.

Edited March 6, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

Well shit. 

I’m just complaining. I assume anybody who sees this already had my phone number. 

Silver and I are finally, I think, finally hitting an equilibrium point: she is tolerating more attention and I am tolerating not giving her too much attention.