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It's been exactly one week since we sent Ra over The Bridge and things are a might bit different around here. For now, at least, there are significantly fewer squabbles among the remaining three residents. The three of them seem to have their pecking order established just fine. It was primarily Ra and Harlow who were in fisticuffs the most over the last month or so, so...yeah. I think the two of them were arguing over who would be "bottom cat", but I can't be sure. Lars, Dorene, and Harlow are seemingly coexisting nicely with one another so far. Lars seems to be top cat, followed by Dorene, then Harlow. They even play grab-ass with each other down the hallways once in awhile during the day!
They've been a bit quieter and more polite (both individually and with each other) than normal, which tells me they know their buddy is gone and have probably figured out that he's not coming back again. I reckon as they get used to this fact they'll become more boisterous again, but for now things are relatively quiet all things considered. They've all been relatively clingy and affectionate with both J and I, too; I think they can feel our sadness and are trying to make us feel better in their own kitty ways. We end up with all three kitties on the bed almost every night for a good chunk of the night, and they're on our recliners as we watch TV in the den, too.
The most interesting change has been the state of the litter boxes. We've had at least one elder cat in chronic renal failure in the house with little to no break since March of '09 which meant lots of clumps of pee in the boxes. Now that Ra's gone the amount of daily scooping I'm doing is cut at least in half, if not more than that. It's quite amazing to me how much urine output we had with the renal failure kitties now that I'm seeing again what normal output for three kitties looks like. Wow. Just...wow...Our litter budget will be cut tremendously!
The big question now: Will Harlow become our official next kitty or will he remain a long-term foster? We're strongly leaning towards adopting him, but since J lost the kitty it's "his turn" to pick out a new kitty, so the decision is mostly in his hands this time. We both love Harlow and he really deserves a loving forever home and he's already acclimated to our house, so...yeah, the odds are in his favour. ;) I will keep you posted as we go through the decision making process... :)
The other big question: what will we do with all the medications we've accumulated for Ra's care? The animal hospital won't take it back and the animal shelter we volunteer with doesn't have any cats who are in need of any of it, either. Eventually we'll probably just dispose of it on our own, but probably not for awhile. Hell, I've still got some of Jazz's oral meds hanging around in a basket in the kitchen and it's been over a year since we sent her over The Bridge...We're not exactly quick in our decisions to get rid of old stuff we don't need anymore unless it's taking up a lot of space. That's our bad, I guess. Silly hoomins.
We *do* have a home for some of Ra's food; a friend of J's has a cat that's underweight and sick that can use the A/D crisis food, so we're bringing that over when we go hang out with them tonight. Hope Jack likes it...Poor kitty--hate to hear of sick kitties... :/
So that's it in our Kitty World. Thought you'd all like an update...
They've been a bit quieter and more polite (both individually and with each other) than normal, which tells me they know their buddy is gone and have probably figured out that he's not coming back again. I reckon as they get used to this fact they'll become more boisterous again, but for now things are relatively quiet all things considered. They've all been relatively clingy and affectionate with both J and I, too; I think they can feel our sadness and are trying to make us feel better in their own kitty ways. We end up with all three kitties on the bed almost every night for a good chunk of the night, and they're on our recliners as we watch TV in the den, too.
The most interesting change has been the state of the litter boxes. We've had at least one elder cat in chronic renal failure in the house with little to no break since March of '09 which meant lots of clumps of pee in the boxes. Now that Ra's gone the amount of daily scooping I'm doing is cut at least in half, if not more than that. It's quite amazing to me how much urine output we had with the renal failure kitties now that I'm seeing again what normal output for three kitties looks like. Wow. Just...wow...Our litter budget will be cut tremendously!
The big question now: Will Harlow become our official next kitty or will he remain a long-term foster? We're strongly leaning towards adopting him, but since J lost the kitty it's "his turn" to pick out a new kitty, so the decision is mostly in his hands this time. We both love Harlow and he really deserves a loving forever home and he's already acclimated to our house, so...yeah, the odds are in his favour. ;) I will keep you posted as we go through the decision making process... :)
The other big question: what will we do with all the medications we've accumulated for Ra's care? The animal hospital won't take it back and the animal shelter we volunteer with doesn't have any cats who are in need of any of it, either. Eventually we'll probably just dispose of it on our own, but probably not for awhile. Hell, I've still got some of Jazz's oral meds hanging around in a basket in the kitchen and it's been over a year since we sent her over The Bridge...We're not exactly quick in our decisions to get rid of old stuff we don't need anymore unless it's taking up a lot of space. That's our bad, I guess. Silly hoomins.
We *do* have a home for some of Ra's food; a friend of J's has a cat that's underweight and sick that can use the A/D crisis food, so we're bringing that over when we go hang out with them tonight. Hope Jack likes it...Poor kitty--hate to hear of sick kitties... :/
So that's it in our Kitty World. Thought you'd all like an update...
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