It All Worked Out for the Best

Last year in January, I decided I wanted to have cats again. For about ten years I’d been using “allergies” as an excuse not to have them. Well, by April, I was ready for a cat. There happened to be a man with my local Freecycle group who needed immediate homes for several cats… one of whom was pregnant. I took her (and the papa) in. Four days later, she popped! We had four kittens. The very next morning, we got the job offer to move to Wyoming.

We wound up keeping the Momma cat and one kitten. Momma had come from a crazy home life to begin with, then, we moved her around all Spring and Summer. She spent much of that time, in isolation with her kitten.

Fast-forward. We have two cats, Casey (18 months) and Zoom Zoom (10 months).

Zoomers is great with the kids! Today, Frank stumbled over her, landing on her tail, and she just sat there. Never moved. Zoomers comes when she’s called. She’s affectionate, but not pesky. Playful, but not destructive. She sleeps at the foot of Frank’s bed… delightful, since she’s “his” cat.

And then there’s Casey. Most of the time, she’s in hiding… under a table, in a corner, or under a bed. Lately, Casey has been having “behavioral” problems (ie: excreting materials in inappropriate places.) Casey comes and shows affection only when she hasn’t been fed. Otherwise, not a chance you can touch her! This isn’t the cat that we saw when we first decided to keep her, back before all the moving and isolation spells. She was kind, gentle, affectionate, and one of the softest cats I’d felt!

Together, these cats are VERY playful, affectionate, and just fun to watch.

So. What to do? Casey is miserable, except when she’s with her kitten, Zoom Zoom. But with the humans, miserable. Just before Tom’s injury, Casey was showing affection, jumping on my lap whenever I sat down (like what, twice a day!?!) Anyway, lately, she’s been having trouble, perhaps just like the rest of us?

Frankly, I’d become fed up. Somewhere between last night and this morning, I decided to write up something about Casey and start looking for a new home for her. I thought this the fairest thing to do, even though Zoom Zoom would surely miss her, for her to be happy and friendly once more.

This afternoon, on our way into our apartments, the people down the hall were moving out. Tom commented "do you want a cat?" and they did! I remembered that this lady was going to go to the pound next month and get her daughter a cat for her 16th B-day. The Mom came in and spent about 10 minutes trying to get Casey to come to her... no good. Then, the daughter comes in and Casey comes right out and climbs in her lap. She would try to get Casey off and Casey insisted on staying. In ten months, I've never seen this cat do that - with anyone! Ever! She’s NEVER just walked up and curled in a person’s lap… not even Tom or mine… upon first contact!

Originally, Mom had ask me to keep Casey until the birthday on March 8th... which I was fine with. But, when her 15 year old was crying because she liked Casey so much, the fiancee was called, and they wound up leaving with Casey.

I hope Zoom Zoom does well. Right after they left, Zoomers was walking around crying for her Momma, but she's settled down. We want two cats, but we want them to get along and be happy in our home. So, we'll probably take one of my sisters kittens (she has a cat that I wanted last year, anyway, the cat is ready to pop, so, in about two - 2 1/2 months, we'll bring a kitten home for Zoom Zoom to have company, and since it will grow up with us, hopefully it will be as tolerant of the boys and well adjusted as Zoomers.

In the meantime, I feel excited and relieved. I think Nicole and Casey are going to get along great! She’s actually already been renamed (“Pancakes”).

Although, this morning I was talking with Frank and Tom said "Casey's not happy, what do you think we should do?" Frank said "find her a new home", but, he was in tears twice in the first hour and 20 minutes since she left. :*( I feel for him, but, Casey will be much happier with Nicole.

It's hard to make a decision when so many are involved. In the end, I hope I "chose wisely".

What do you do when a pet is unhappy in your home? Do you try to “work it out” or do you acknowledge that not all situations were “meant to be” and find a more suitable home for your pet?

POSTSCRIPT: Humorously enough, when Frank started crying right after Casey had left, I ask what was wrong and he said "I miss Casey!" and started bawling! Immediately, Jack said the same thing and started screaming while they both climbed into my lap. Jack was TOTALLY mimicking what he saw and heard Frank doing, even though he could have cared less about the situation!