(no subject)

[brandywine28]

Thanks to everyone who commented and/or sent messages after my last post. You guys! *cries a single, crystalline tear of pure gratitude* Awkward, one-armed bro hugs for all!

Still an emotional tire fire over here, albeit one who has every intention of putting a lid on the cat-related wangsting...uh, in, like, five minutes -- just as soon as I pose a question, if that's cool? Cool.

So, to everyone who has/has had just one cat -- no more, no less: how...how does that work, exactly? What are the chances of him keeling over from loneliness while I'm at work? Is that anywhere within the realm of possibility? 'Cos every morning, right as I'm reaching for the doorknob, he materializes out of nowhere and hits me with a pissy look of muted hatred, as if to say "how dare you leave me alone all day! You are a shitsack of the highest order." Which -- am I? Am I a shitsack of the highest order??

Or am I creating problems out of thin air? Wouldn't be the first time.

I only ask because I'm truly, truly out of my depth on this one. I'm down to single cat status and I only just realized that I haven't owned less than two cats since I was something like eight years old. We're through the looking glass here, people. (Just for reference: the cat in question is named Hugo. Hugo Alexander. He's nine, perfectly healthy and a bossy, puffy-tailed rat monster. Very alpha. His interests include swaggering, machismo and biting my calves while I'm sitting on the toilet.)

Comments

[nopseud]

Cats aren't naturally highly social animals, so there's no reason not to have just one. The main problem is that indoor only cats might get bored without enough stimulation. So maybe just get more toys, and make sure you regularly leave new things around for him to investigate?

Really, thought, it depends on the temperament of the old and new cats We got a new cat after the oldest of our two died, and the existing cats HATES him. He's rather rough, so I can understand her point. But our cats have free access to the outdoors, so they can always get away from one another. If I were you, I wouldn't get a new cat unless it's from somewhere that will let you return the cat if it turns out badly.

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

I think part of the problem is that there's a very strong chance I'm mistaking his general brattiness for specific, root-based tantrum-throwing. He's a jerk, but then again, he's always been a jerk. :)

But on the flip side -- I keep hearing all these horror stories about dogs and cats (and goats. And horses and ferrets.) who shut down and stop eating when someone close to them dies. It's scary! Although...considering that less than an thirty minutes ago he crammed his entire snout into my cereal bowl and then merrily poked me in the neck while I was doing the dishes...I'm thinking that that particular hurdle may not, in fact, be quite so hurdle-y after all?

Thanks for the input! Especially in regards to him being an indoor cat. You're right: it makes a big difference.

[nopseud]

The general reaction of my cats to the loss of another cat in the house has been somewhere between THANK GOD and meh. One of our cats had to have a toe amputated, and I swear I have never seen our other cat look so smug as when she was at the vets for a day or two, and never look so mournful as when she came home. The strongest reaction I've ever seen personally was when one my parents' cats died very suddenly, aged about 10. His sister looked for him around the house on and off for a few days, and then she kind of went, oh, well, and got on with her life.

If your kitty;s eating now, I don't think he's about to suddenly start to grieve himself to death.

[brandywine28.livejournal.com]

Ha! Oh wow, cats really are a bunch of heartless bastards, aren't they? Like, almost uniformly so. Why's that so easy to forget, I wonder? Must be the fluffiness. :)