I’ve written about my cat Molly that survived all odds through being locked up in a tiny room during the school summer break and how she was found in a bad state when school started again. That’s how we came to add Molly to our home.
First she belonged to my daughter, Susie. Then later, when Susie was in her teen years and more interested in work, friends, photography, and her social cat, she sort of forgot about Molly. One day my son, Tony, came to visit us and saw that Molly was being ignored by Susie, who wasn’t home. When he left, he packed up Molly’s things and put her in a carrier and took her home with him where he could give her attention and care for her better. Then when I moved to Oregon to live by myself, we all thought I needed to have a pet. The perfect pet would be Molly who knew me and felt comfortable with me. She also did much better as an only pet and she didn’t have that with my son (who had two other cats, snakes, and a bearded dragon). So we packed her up and she made the final drive from the San Francisco Bay Area to our new home in Portland, Oregon. We were happy, Molly and I. Then, she very suddenly got very sick. From a Friday to a Monday she had stopped eating and drinking water and was hiding. I took her to the vet first thing Monday and she was too far gone. The vet said she could do some tests and some procedures but there was only a 30% chance that she would make it. She was in pain. So I had to very tearfully make the decision to let her go. I haven’t wanted to get another cat. I don’t want to let myself open for that kind of hurt again. But then I remind myself that I did the same thing with human relationships after my divorce. I put up a shield to protect myself from the pain and the falling apart. And now I’m alone.
So…I got a cat! I don’t have her yet. I get her on Friday. She currently lives at my daughter’s friends’ house but they have a dog and four other cats with whom she doesn’t get along. We went to see her last night. She’s a beauty. She looks a bit like my Molly. She is a Maine Coon mix with extremely long and very full hair. She’s a light color, gray and brown mix. She has very pretty eyes and she is very friendly. She took to me right away. In the meantime, I get things ready for her here at home and her current family gets ready to say goodbye to her. I pick her up on Friday. I’m already happy and looking forward to having a new room mate with me.
Her name is Who. That might change but if she is used to it, she can keep her name. Who and I will be happy together.
If you’d like to read more about our family’s kitties, you can do so here. Sadly, some of these kitties are no longer with us. Molly has been gone for almost three years now. Elliott has been gone for almost two years. Nari has been gone for four years. We still love them all.