I had a cat who came here mysteriously as a stray kitten. During the two weeks it took to catch him, he spent a lot of time dashing up, down, and all around the crabapple tree with the family of squirrels that lived there. We finally did catch him, tamed him, and he settled into the household... but it took months for him to produce his first real catlike "meow." My Gussy's first language was squirrel chatter. My condolences. It's been a bittersweet day today. September 1, 1977 was when my first cat, Cassandra, was born (I received her as a gift from my dad on October 8 that year). She died in 1992. September 1, 1987 was the birthday of another of my cats, Tomtat. He was the youngest of a 3-generation cat family we had (him, his mother, and his grandmother), and he was born under my dad's bed. I remember being so proud of Tomtat when he finally learned to catch mice... 6 years later. He'd caught a mouse in the kitchen and when I came to investigate the noise (he'd been batting it around at 4 am) he thought he was in trouble. But when I realized what he'd done I just gave him a hug and told him he was such a good boy, and would he please catch some more (we had a pretty bad mouse infestation that year). Tomtat died in 2001. He and Cassandra were 10 years apart in age; she was Siamese and he was tuxedo. They were good friends with each other, got along great with our dogs, were very affectionate with their humans, and I still miss them.
Thanks everybody. It's still really hard, as little as Maya came out the last few months, and she wasn't the lap cat, sleeping in the bed cat she was the rest of her life, I can feel her absence so strongly. The place just feels emptier. Gremlin has been much more of an attention mongerer. I can tell he misses his sister, despite not harassing her in recent months. I got him as a baby as company for Maya when she was 2, and even though I would love for him to have a "flea" of his own, I have to resist that urge. I don't plan on any more pets after these 2, as much fun as it's been.
My wife said he is, but I don't think so. He's the same size as the other two, about nine or ten pounds. Sherlock is a grey tiger, and Watson is a ginger tom, both short-hair. The pet store said they all came in together, along with two other males and three females, presumably all from the same litter. Mycroft and one of the females are long-haired, the rest are all short-haired.
Well, it might be mixed in his DNA somewhere but not from too recently if he's only 9 or 10 pounds. Junior is about 18/19 lbs but he's also a bit chubby, so he probably should be about 17 lbs. He's probably a mix. His mother was a Maine Coon who had gone feral (or so his owners told me) so there's no telling what kind of cat his dad was. But Junior has all the markings (and size) of a Maine Coon.
It's always amazing how different kittens form the same litter can look if there's a mix of DNA. My gray striped & white male had a Calico sister when I got him as a kitten. And not forgetting that kittens from the same litter can have different fathers. This is more likely with a feral colony of course, where they don't only love the one they're with.
I'm finally coming to terms with it, but Jim is no longer in my lap. He was only about five years old. He developed crystals in his bladder and became blocked to the point that he had to be put down. It's been four weeks, today. I've never been so devastated in my life, and I've had many furry family members. There was something about Jim that made him different. He needed me and I needed him. Goodnight little bud. I'll miss you for as long as I live.
I'm very sorry @Scribble. I lost my lapcat a little over 4 weeks ago. I still miss her a ton. As far as my 13 year old male. He had cystitis and/or crystalized urine several years ago. He never drinks enough water, so I determined I was going to make sure he didn't have that problem again, so I "water" him 3 times a day with one of those 12cc plastic syringes you get from the dentist.
Thank you and I'm sorry to hear about your girl. I wish I'd known that would've been an option. I would have done anything for that little guy.
I guess it could depend on the exact ailment. I hoped what I was doing would work, and it seems to have. The vet's option was to give him IV fluid.
Condolences to those who lost their feline bosses. My 13 year old Sadie crossed the Rainbow bridge, last month (cancer in her mouth, poor darling.). My young Daisy who was only 9 weeks old died 10 days after I bought her in August. (I have a legal case against the pet shop but they conveniently closed down). Despite having a human male in my life, I miss having a cat so I found a breeder who has 2 British short hair sisters for me, they will be with me soon. Sadie did not do laps, or pick ups, but she did do morning and night time cuddles. During the day she completely ignored us. Daisy was the complete opposite, very affectionate and vocal in her short life.
I'm so sorry. Cats fill a place in our lives that no human could. Same with dogs if you're a dog person (I'm both). I'm glad it's working for him. I would've tried if I'd thought of that.
Playing around with my phone, trying to get good close-up shots. Junior actually sat still long enough for me to take this one:
Very sorry for your losses. Yeah, my lapcat passed and the male is totally not a lapcat nor does he like being hoisted. So of course I pick him up often, just to hear him grousing about it.