What's Normal?



I and my family of fur pets have been out of balance for more than three months. I do not know if it is my PTSD effecting my fur kids or the loss of Scrappy effecting my pets who are effecting me or if it is a dynamic spiral. I do know it was depressing because I take a lot of comfort from my fur kids and they just were not providing it.

Wee Willow went into stomp and meow mode. This is a cat I honestly thought for years could not meow because she never did. Until we lost The Darkness. Willow literally only stopped meowing when she was asleep. I figured she needed a new pal so brought Scrappy into the house. It was not an immediate solution but she went from meowing at me to hissing at him until one day they were fast friends and kitty bed buddies. Scrappy fit into studio life wonderfully and the house calmed down.

Until Scrappy's violent death on December 20th. Life has been anything but normal since. Wee Willow went back to stomping and meowing and I tried to pretend it would stop on its own. Just how long can a cat mourn. Maybe as long as the owner can cry. Both of us were inconsolable. I would have raced out an got another feline except I wasn't ready. Introducing a new cat into an existing pet dynamic is not a piece of cake and frankly there was enough going on in my life, like the aging standard poodle I wake up in the mornings to see if she is still alive.

But a friend of mine on line got a new kitten she put with an aging cat and I am taking care of Shasta and Casper (Shasta being the new kitten). What would it hurt to pay the Stray Hearts Animal Shelter a visit? That was Saturday and I came home with two very active little male kittens. It was a decision not made lightly. There were about six cats I absolutely instantly loved. The gentleman at the cattery said a younger male would be more likely to settle in with an existing family dynamic containing an older female. Willow has seen several cats come and go. The two older Siamese I took in for a friend with cancer was a major mistake. They became the upstairs cats and Darkness and Willow the downstairs cats and they never met except for flying fur balls on the stairs when my cats came upstairs to sleep with me.

Scrappy settling in with Willow took two months. But Willow was not going to stop meowing. I figured Thicke and Quen were robust and active enough cats to handle the over attention of Magique, the labradoodle. And they are afraid of nothing. Willow has kept her distance but immediately stopped meowing and stomping. But Magique constantly whines for the kittens to play with her. Patience is not her long suit. It isn't mine either. It has only been one full day. And I expect things to be normal. But how can it be because things are not normal with me. Every sound has me on edge because I missed the sound of Scrappy being killed in my studio while I slept upstairs.

Realistically I know this will take a couple weeks. I have a safe corner for the kittens to escape to. And I am little by little kitten proofing the house. What they knock off I do not put back. And the weather is great so the dogs can spend extended periods outside the house. Well, except for Mardi Gras. I still check to see if she is alive.

I think the kittens are going to be good for me and my fur kids. It is day two and already progress has been made. With everyone but me. I will be better when everyone else is better. Damn it is a good thing I never had kids.

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