One cat, two cat, sad Cat, new cat.

I've always had two cats. A pair of brother and sister. Arthur and Maggie, Poppy and Clive, Carrie and Spud (actually not brother and sister now I think of it, a foundling and a pet shop springee), and most recently Dennis and Rachel, who came to stay when they were five weeks old, eight and a half years ago.

They grew up together:

Sharing the same basket even when it got too small:

Inseparable.

But last September, quite unexpectedly, Dennis Buggit died, taking a chunk of my heart with him. 

Oh, how I miss him. He was a cat for people who think they don't like cats: bold, affectionate, "helpful" e.g. with bedmaking, chatty . . . Rachel, in contrast, is exactly the kind of cat who makes people who don't like cats not like cats: timid, stand-offish, moody, unrewarding. Of course, I adore her but she doesn't give much back.

I miss having a cat who'll let me pick him up, who'll come to greet guests, who'll climb a ladder to see the view from the roof. I want a cat who does this again:

(Neil bent over to poke the fire and Dennis saw his chance for some physical contact.)

So I've been thinking about a new cat.

And I'm not even pretending that it's concern for poor lonely Rachel driving these plans. Because Rachel, left alone without the brother she spent her life with  . . . couldn't care less. She's neither up not down. As every cat hater would say: "typical".

Nope, my new cat plans are completely selfish. Rachel doesn't even like other cats. (She doesn't actually like anyone that much.) But when she moved to California she lived with a dog for six months, so I'm going to assume she'll be okay. There might be a few frosty weeks but eventually she'll thaw out and go back to treating us with her customary lukewarm disdain.

All my cat-expert friends tell me that she's more likely to tolerate a youngster than an adult, that a tiny mewling baby who needs her might ignite some spark of catly acceptance deep inside.

So when I say I'm getting a cat I mean a kitten and when I say a kitten, of course, I mean two. Because Rachel "accepting" is never going to mean fun and companionship for the new arrival and kittens need friends. A kitten needs someone else to climb the other curtain with its eyes wild, its ears flat and its tiny tail lashing. A kitten needs an ally to help in conquering the mighty enemy - Piece of String. A kitten needs a wingman to help it with the important job of herding ping pong balls in a bathtub.

And yes, okay, I need to watch two curtain-climbing, string-killing, ping-pong-ball-herding kittens, because it's the best thing there is.

I wish I could tell Rachel to make the most of the peace while it lasts.

Because whether she likes it or not, sometime soon, probably in May when my trips and travels are over for a while, I'm going to start scouring the shelters for two bold, affectionate, helpful, chatty kittens. They'll just be being born about now.

Meanwhile, if anyone has any advice about getting a snooty cat to shake down with new flatmates, I'd love to hear it. One cat pal said to wash the kitten with my own shampoo then leave it wet and pathetic, so Rachel would lick it dry. But I wouldn't put it past her just to laugh and hook a door open with her paw to let a cold draft in.

 

 

 

Comments

[Charlaine Harris]

When I could have cats (family allergies now preclude), I had a cat just like Rachel. She didn't like anyone but me, and she only tolerated me. But I loved her, until I realized how unrewarding loving her was. I hope you get two playful kittens and that Rachel does not interfere with a happy relationship you build with them!

[catriona]

Funnily enough, this morning she came to visit me in bed, purring and pushing her head under my hand. I was flattered but a bit of me was thinking "burn the witch".

[Lori Rader-Day]

Great. Now I want kittens.

[Audrey]

Rachel came to visit me in bed when I was over to visit, I was terrified to move incase I scared her away, such was this beautiful but unusual event! She is a very pretty cat but also very aloof. Dennis was into everything, mind trying to do a jigsaw with him sprawled on top, hilarious. As you know I'm not a cat person, but you have had some beauties! Wonder about names for the next two?

[Debi Huff]

So sorry for your loss. Those durn furballs just take over our lives. I have one-formerly two- but I think Polly is happy being an only kitty. I may decide selfishly to add another!!

[Clare O'Donohue]

Poor Rachel. Just because she doesn't show emotions doesn't mean she doesn't feel them. Perhaps she was just overshadowed by larger than life Dennis. In any case, my guess is that she will make clear to the new arrivals that the house, and the people in it, belong to her. The kittens will think she's kidding. She'll be quietly jealous about the attention they get. They will not-so-secretly seek her approval. Eventually she will take a nap and leave them to it. But give her a chin scratch for me. I know she won't thank you for it, but she deserves it all the same.

[Margie Bunting]

Love your cats' names--they sound like children rather than kitties (and aren't they really?. We had 3 cats at one time for 16 years before the first 2 died (the other hung on till almost 20), and although each was different, that was probably too many. After a year's rest, we got Sasha from the Humane Society. We wrestled with whether to get 2, and now I wish we had. Sasha is lovely, but she's really a one-person cat and that person is Mike, my husband. She doesn't even like our older son since he moved out. She is chatty, though--that's one trait we were looking for. Good luck with your new "children" and with Rachel.

[catriona]

Well, the children thing? I dunno. There's the putting some extra food on the floor and taking off for the weekend angle . . . I'm not sure why all of our cats (except Spud) ended up with people names.

[James Ziskin]

We, too, always have two cats. Two used cats, as we like to say. Shelter cats. Our cats are incredibly social, love us, like people, but hate each other.

Good luck on the new kittens. And sorry for Dennis. He sounds like a mench of a cat.

[Dana]

Spud is a people name, too, surely?

I'm sorry about the hole Dennis left and hope Rachel and K1 and K2 get on.

Also, we seem to pick the lively ones too. Kate and Increase were wrestling in their litter tray when we got them, and Zoe and Kaylee immediately climbed up James's coat and tried to get onto his head the first time we met at the shelter.

[Dina Willner]

Good luck, Catriona. I have always had two cats except for one brief flirtation with three. I find that even when the cat is standoffish (my Kinsey) she tolerated Casey and Casey loved Kinsey. So it all worked out.

[ElaineViets]

Good luck, Catriona. We've never had more than two cats, but make sure Rachel has a kitten free retreat. They can be rambunctious for older cats. or, she may lay down the law with some hissing and a good paw swipe.
Have fun.

[Linda]

I've only had 3 cats in my life but I had a Spud too. Makes me wonder how you chose the name. Mine was in reaction to too many inquiries from a friend as to what I was going to name the kitten on the way to pick him up. The next sign I passed said "Spuds for sale". So Spud became his name. It fit him too.

[Donna Wms]

If during the first couple of days Rachel gives the kittens some really good thwacks, don't yell too loudly. It's a chain of command thing. If she keeps doing it, you have a problem, but right at first it is normal. Works, too. We had a 65 pound dog who knew the 19 pound cat was bigger than he was. We always had an established pet who had to get used to young ones. And now I only have one, and she seems aloof, but I know better.

[Susan]

When our beloved Pixel died, I thought I needed a break from losing people and animals I loved dearly, so I agreed only to "foster" a cat or two from a wonderful local shelter (Jake's Place). The first loved me but peed on the bed of the woman who was going to adopt her, which I took as a clear sign she had chosen me and we would have no more fooling around with adoption games. Then, I fostered a little kitten who had to have its leg amputated, and Saffron made it clear rehabing and PT was her responsibility, which meant Punk became our baby. No fostering lately...they know I'm a sucker.

[Diane Davis]

At the moment I have one dog, Jenny - a rescue I adopted when she was 9 yrs old. She's about 14 years old now, and loves cats. Very instinctive about how much attention they do or do not want. Two years ago I adopted, from the SPCA, a wonderful male cat, who was 12 yrs old at the time. Coal black with 5 toes on each front paw, like mittens. I kept his name, Luke. About a month ago there was a cat hanging around at times, near where I feed the birds and squirrels off my screened porch. It was extremely cold - in the 20s or below - for quite a while, so I started putting dry cat food out. One day, there she was. I was able to pick her up, give her some loving and bring her inside, then to the vet the next day. She's also coal black, at a guess about 6 months old. Had to be spayed, have a hernia fixed, removal of roundworms and eat mites and given her shots. Luke and Jenny just watched her from afar for about a week or so, then Luke started playing with her. They chase each other back and forth. Though they mostly do that at night, and I miss him patting my head as he settles down above it at night to sleep. They will do fine with your older cat. Either she will ignore them or play with them. It's all good.

[catriona]

Can't say better than "it's all good" Diane - thank you. I would love if the cat underground painted an x on our gatepost and our next cat turned up at the door.

[catriona]

Linda, our Spud was the runt of a litter we fostered when they were abandoned. He was "poor wee scrap" and then put weight on and became "poor wee spud" then just Spud.

Susan, I *know* if I fostered a litter of kittens now I'd have that many cats for the next fifteen years!

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Oh, gosh, this whole thing...ah.

I had Lola (who died at age 20, and still talks to me in dreams.) I got her at the SPCA, when she was SO tiny she couldn't even climb stairs. Two years later, I found Leon on the street, also a tiny kitten, and he came home with me. For the next , oh 15 years, until Leon died, they never spoke. Never even acknowledged the other's existence.

(Maybe they did while I was away from home, you know? That's be a very cat thing to do.)

SO my advice is: they re cats. Don;t even try to plan.

xoxoo

[catriona]

I am so jealous of you casual kitten-finders!