About Loss and Lucy

A little over a year ago we said goodbye to our beloved cat Mia (read here) and it hurt deeply, if you are an animal lover you certainly understand. While we were very sad, there was one of us who was hurting more, our other cat Ophelia. She went through a mourning period that lasted months, she would mournfully meow in the way that she always did when she was looking for Mia, the two were exceptionally close.  She became withdrawn and isolated herself. Once Ophelia seemed to settle into the fact that Mia was no longer with us she settled into a deep and lasting depression. She does very little and shows very little interest in most everything.

Eric and I have been trouble-shooting for ages trying to get Ophelia back in action. Yes, she is an older cat, but she is in excellent health so there is no reason for her general malaise...beyond depression. We took her to the vet and he ruled out possible health concerns that could be at the root of her behavior shift. We have tried to keep her more engaged and we have tried new ways of stimulating her, but nothing has really worked. We were pretty sure we were not going to get another cat as there is obviously no replacing a relationship like those two had with each other.

Then, we stumbled upon a few articles that made us think that perhaps a second cat might actually help her. First, let me start by saying that I do not recommend this as a move for every person with a depressed cat, some cats prefer a more solitary style---but not Ophelia. She is not a loner, which made her mood all the more heart wrenching for us. So we decided to take a leap of faith and after some discussion we decided to get another cat.

We were looking for a kitten. Generally we don't adopt kittens or puppies as those tend to find homes more easily than older cats, but as we are already dealing with an older cat our research led us to believe a younger cat would be more easily accepted by Ophelia. We found her at the Humane Society a tiny kitten-- part Siamese (familiar, but not too much like Mia) with startling blue eyes. She was sweet and playful without being intense about it, she wasn't terrified by the girls which was a plus. So we went for it and brought her home yesterday afternoon.







Meet Lucy Scratch-N-Sniff Sparkles Wimmer, mostly just Lucy.

We are going slowly, the cats have only met while Lucy is in a very large dog kennel, otherwise she is free roaming in the guest room while she learns about her litter box (perfect so far) and gets used to the sounds and smells of our loud and busy house. The initial meeting between cats went well, Lucy was totally calm and Ophelia was nervous, but interested---more interested than she has been in anything for over a year. We want them to get used to the smell of another cat. We want their introductions to be peaceful. Cats don't bond in minutes the way dogs sometimes seem to, they take their time and we want to foster a relationship between these two girls and let them become friendly, if not friends. Hopefully Ophelia will remember that she isn't alone and some young blood will help her to feel more like herself. That last sentence made it sound like Ophelia is a cat vampire, she's not.



No matter what we have given another living creature a home in which she will be cared for until the end of her life. Welcome to the family Lucy.

Oh and if you are wondering, Cordelia and Elise are sooooo far beyond excited that I am pretty sure their brains melted a little bit. They are kind and gentle and Lucy is already crazy about them!

Long Suffering, Mostly Lazy

Last night Cordelia took "care" of Ophelia. Look at that cranky cat face. When I walked in on this scene my initial thought was to feel sympathy for Ophelia, this kind of encounter happens pretty much every day. Then I realized she could just walk away, instead that cat is so lazy she would rather have a four year old tuck my running socks under her head. She was covered in pillows, but beneath those pillows were toys (hard and soft variety), blanket, clothes, and a Ninja Turtle. Cordelia told me that it was all stuff Ophelia needs. 

So, I didn't really help Ophelia out of her predicament. Instead I just took the four year old out of the equation. I looked back at that cat and I swear I heard her whisper (in Roseanne's voice, that is what I think her voice would sound like if she were human),"You will be sorry you left me here."

And I was. A short while later as both girls were drifting off to sleep Ophelia started in on her loud meowing, waking the girls up. She gave me a triumphal look as she shimmed off to her food bowl. She also "accidentally" missed the litter box. She opted to poop one inch from the box. I am sure she was smug about it too!

Then, at an unholy hour she paraded through the house meowing and, I am pretty sure, she said,"next time you won't leave me covered in toys!" And I won't.

Don't worry, by the time the sun was up all was forgiven and she was comfortably snuggled up against my feet. She was exhausted from her mischief and will spend the next 900 hours sleeping on the bed.

Details

Do you take a daily drive to work or have a specific daily routine? I do and I sometimes get so plugged into the routine that I need to take a moment and think about the details that become all too easy to overlook. It's all in the details as they say. So, I thought I would share a few details from my routine.

After I get home from work I have to take off my socks and shoes. Sometimes I take them off at work...as long as there are no meetings at the office. Anyway, when I get home off come the shoes, the socks and I change from work clothes into my comfortable clothes. My toes spend much of the day longing to be free and their liberation is a daily joy. I am one of those weird people who uses their feet like extra hands, so wearing shoes is akin to wearing boxes over my hands. Why oh why can't people just accept that I want to use my feet like a monkey? I wish it were socially acceptable.


Eric and I listen to records. We have the ipod and all of that, but we began to lament the loss of the experience of an album. We had our ipod on continual shuffle and never sat down with an album and really listened to it anymore. Well, at least until we got crazy with the records. We are always on the lookout for records at thrift stores and garage sales. Since we listen to music mainly from the 1970s and 1980s there are always records floating around.


My parents got us a wooden W for Christmas. I am not sure why they got it, or why I was so excited about it. I coated it in glitter and hung it by a black ribbon from our front door. Every time I close the door it bangs against it, but I don't really mind. I love the giant glittering W it kind of adds a disco appeal to the front door and what's not to like about that?

Mia's delicate feet. Her little velveted paws. Every night as I lay down to go to bed the cat comes over to my side of the bed and slaps me with her tiny paws, let's out a Marge Simpson-esque meow and demands a little attention. While her meow is less than ladylike her demands are clear and I happily oblige.

How to Endlessly Entertain Two Cats and a Basset Hound

Ophelia (far left) and Mia (right) on alert for any Sergei sightings

I previously blogged about the little mouse who likes to scoot around our patio. We named him Sergei. Anyway, we hadn't seen Sergei for a while and we were wondering if he had moved on. We were wrong. A few days ago Sergei decided to taunt all of the critters in my house. Mia and Ophelia took up position by the sliding glass doors to watch the show.

Sergei speeding by.

Sergei began taunting the animals from a distance, speeding by like a little lighting bolt of mousey fury.

Bumblebee watching from a safe distance

Bumblebee became interested, mostly in the activities of the cats, but the cats were a bit too intense for Bumblebee to feel comfortable enough to approach the window. She took up her post on the couch where she could watch the cats and see Sergei zoom by. Mia would tap the window each time Sergei ran by and Bumblebee would whine.

Ophelia and Bumblebee, heads in motion as Sergei makes a pass by

After enough time had passed Bumblebee decided she could take a front seat to the action. Sergei even made an approach to the window, directly in front of the audience. I think their little cat and dog brains nearly exploded from excitement.

Sergei hanging out in the corner. Yes, I know I need to sweep my patio.

Finally it grew too dark to watch the animals watch Sergei. We closed the blinds, but Ophelia has been on watch ever since.

Jaws

One day when I was 8 years old I went looking for snakes after school. There were a few of us kids roaming about the neighborhood in search of snakes, not sure why. Anyway we ended up in a part of town called Deer Park. I heard a tiny meow coming from a nearby ditch. I sought out the source of the little meow and found a very tiny little kitten. She appeared to be abandoned. She was so young that one eye was still closed.

I picked her up and before I could even think about how I was going to convince my parents that we had to keep her Chad (one of the kids on the snake hunt) tried to rip her from my hands.

He made some declaration about how he would keep her. Well, to say the least he did not succeed in stealing her from me. I must admit that I punched Chad, not too hard, but with enough force that I was able to claim victory.

I took her home and to my dismay my parents didn't immediately concede. They posted a few signs for a found kitten, which went unanswered. Even before the signs were up I was busy thinking of a name for her. My first few ideas were quite weak, names like Cinderella and Isabelle. My Mom soon suggested that we call her Spitfire or Jaws as we got to know the bitey little kitten a bit better. She ended up as Jaws, but her nicknames include (but are not limited to): Magic Cat and Cougar.

She had some abandonment issues at first. When left alone she would suck on the end of her own tail, a result of being away from her cat mom. We would come home to find a very happy kitten with a crusty tail tip. Years went by and she settled into life with my family. She spent her time exploring and avoiding our beagle, Chloe.

Now, so many years later, she is still alive and kicking. She is over 19 years old now. You can see in the photo that she is looking a little worse for the wear, but doesn't seem to be ready to pack it in yet. She still loves to lay in the summer sun, demand a good pet and of course she still earns her name with an occasional bite.

What's Good

Here is a short list of the things that are currently making me very happy:

Today is the first day of Fall. I loooove Fall. I noticed that the trees were all beginning to turn, some had already given up all of their leaves.

Earlier this week the kids (to read about them click here) had set up a fire pit in the middle of the sidewalk out front. They had taken large stones, arranged them in a ring and piled a bunch of sticks inside. Thankfully they did not try and start up a fire!

I invented a recipe for a vegan butternut squash soup that was so delicious. I love when that happens.

We got to spend some time with our friend Irish and her baby. Nice to spend time with friends.

My blog got a make-over. In case you hadn't noticed.

The cats have been snuggling with each other a lot. I think it has something to do with the changing weather, but it is super-sweet.

Speaking of animals, our mouse has been very busy lately. I think he has moved into the bushes just outside our porch. Ophelia and Bumblebee have been keeping careful watch.

One Cat Two Souls: Ophelia vs. Angela

We adopted Ophelia before Eric and I were married. I was volunteering at a no-kill animal shelter in Portales, NM . While in the cat room she would approach me, reach up my leg and meow until I would pick her up. Once in my arms she would roll on her back and let me carry her like an infant. She would use her little kitty paws to pull my face to her, jealous if I gave attention to another.


Poor Eric didn't know what he was getting into when he told me that I could pursue his landlady and see if she would let him have a pet. I couldn't have one as I was living in the dorms (a cold chill runs down my spine as I recall the horrors of dorm living). So, I relentlessly pursued his landlady and was able to charm her into letting Eric adopt sweet Miss Ophelia.

When Eric picked her up I was not able to go with him. He picked me up from work that day and she was in her carrier. I pulled her out and immediately submitted to her eternal dark powers. That first evening we got the first taste of the two sides of this cat. She has dual personalities and we have learned to accept it.



Let me explain. There is Ophelia, also known as Loaf. She is fat, greedy, demanding, rude, cranky, and generally unpleasant. She will hiss if you enter her personal bubble. She can alpha roll Bumblebee. She eats all of the food. She flops her jelly rolls wherever she pleases and lets us know when we can or cannot approach.

Then there is the other personality; we call her Angela. She comes to us in the night with a gentle meow, a little kitty kiss, and endless purring. She loves and wants to sit in your lap, she affectionately grooms her sister Mia. She will tolerate Bumblebee. She coos and cuddles, rolls and plays like a kitten.


So, naturally we were initially a bit disturbed by these sudden shifts in personality. We never know which cat we would be dealt. Over the years we have learned to quickly react to whichever cat we are dealing with. Should we back off or dive in? Both Ophelia and Angela have their charms and too much of either has us missing the other personality. Will we be loved or snubbed? Maybe we are gluttons for punishment, but I suppose that is really the best part of this adoption, we received a two-for-one at the shelter.

Mama Mia

Last week I wrote about Bumblebee. Now I feel I must write about all of our pets, don't worry we only have three. Mia came to us as a stray. Eric was living in his first apartment. One evening I was over at his house while he was out running an errand. My friend Dorothy called and said she had found a Siamese cat and didn't know what to do with her. Eric had just been coerced into adopting our cat Ophelia (more about her another day) and I knew he wasn't really in the market to open up shop as an animal shelter. However, I was working for a no-kill animal shelter at the time. I figured that I could take the cat in the following morning if I couldn't convince Eric that we had to keep her.

When she arrived that evening she was very sick and very thin. She was also pretty much completely wild. For Eric it was love at first sight. The following weeks were all about medicine, spaying, and generally learning that she was OK. She and Ophelia bonded quickly and things began to smooth out. She had some serious problems and it took a year before we heard her purr.

Now she is the only civilized member of our household. She seems to be always dressed with long black gloves. She plays fetch and loves to sit in the window. She meows when she wants us to come to bed and bites us if we don't pet her when she demands. She is far too much of a lady to sit on our laps, but she will sit right next to us and purr so loud.