After three frigid nights, this morning one could easily believe Spring had arrived.
In the garden, weeds are flourishing.
Tomorrow night? Snow perhaps.
.
The Monet Immersive is on Monday.
.
If it snows a lot, maybe I won’t have to decide whether or not to go. I’m struggling to understand why it is such a challenge.
Usually I can identify the source of a mental road block but this eludes me.
A vague cloud of anxiety has been hanging over me, possibly related to end-of-year, bits of bad news…
Will it lift after Monday?
.
When I took the latest pictures of the trees at Hannaford’s, I noticed that they were bearing buds.
Which surely cannot be good.
.
Changes unsettle me.
Uncertainty has always disturbed me.
.
It is inevitable, in a multi-cat household, that additions and losses change the overall dynamic.
It’s not something you can predict.
You just have to wait and watch.
And accept.
.
Things had only begun to settle after Lucy’s death,
…when we lost Penny and Toby.
.
Lucy was very attached to me from the start and she was 2nd in seniority to Lily who was not interested in rank!
Moving to our new home, 5 years ago, the remaining foster-cats became officially part of an extended family and when everything settled, Lily changed her allegiance, spending most of her time with Grant.
.
Lucy then asserted her right to claim proximity to me.
No cuddling. Just proximity.
Willow fancied being close as well. Her requirement was to have a special blanket, dedicated to her alone.
Each time I provided a new one, Lucy moved in to appropriate it. In the end, Willow gave up and went to sleep on a nearby piece of furniture instead.
.
Things are never quite that simple, of course.
Sometimes Patches arrives.
She knows nothing of seniority or squatting rights. She just…arrives.
She is blissfully unaware of dirty looks thrown her way. And her visits are short. When she’s ready she moves on.
Patches is one of the innocents.
.
In June, Lucy went blind. After a period of adjustment, she liked to sleep on a box beside my bed.
Toby was by then spending most nights with me too, so I had one within easy reach on each side..
.
When suddenly, inexplicably, at the end of September, Lucy was gone, there was no obvious immediate reaction from the other cats, but very soon Willow began sleeping by my feet, ignoring Toby’s comings and goings.
.
While Lily had attached herself to Grant, she still visited me periodically. Generally to remind me about lunch!
After Lucy’s death, Lily’s visits became more frequent and not necessarily food-oriented.
Before her abdication, she had had a habit of jumping onto the back of my chair to poke me for attention. Lily loves to have her ears massaged.
Now she was doing it again. I could make up a reason, but it would only be a guess, though I am sure it had something to do with Lucy being gone.
It made me happy, because Lily is quite special. She is my senior cat, the only one remaining that was with me when Panther and Thimphu were alive.
.
Lily was one of my first fosters.
This skinny little scrap of a thing moved in to the “suite” where several other cats eyed her:
“You’re a mighty fine specimen!”
declared Merlin.
.
Emily
“M”
.
Piero.
Cassidy
.
It was all a bit much for her…
.
So I scooped the little waif up and brought her upstairs to join the refined group who were officially mine.
I defy anyone to look at this face and say you would not have done the same!
.
So I was thrilled to be once again on Lily’s radar, so to speak.
Her occasional visits seemed so deliberate.
She always engages my eyes, as if to tell me something.
Meanwhile, Willow was firmly installed on my bed at night and things began to settle.
.
Everything about losing Penny and Toby was awful.
They left a huge gap in our lives.
That was nearly 5 weeks ago.
About 10 days ago, Lily decided to spend a night with me.
Two nights later she did it again.
Then she stayed two nights in a row.
.
Willow seemed not bothered about Lily being on the bed.
That is until Blackie arrived.
Willow gets on fine with them but she can only share the bed with one or the other, not both.
Apparently.
Lily has such a sweet face, and is adorable!
It is so interesting to observe the quiet changes in the dynamics.
I am so happy for you. ❤️
Catherine
Dealing with the different personalities of so many cats is challenging indeed. Ollie is easy to read. He likes to be near me, as close as possible. He gets jealous if anyone invades the space between us (Usually Julie, or our grandson) and will squeeze into any gap they leave to show them it is his rightful place. He adores rigid routine, and is visibly put out by any significant changes.
As he gets near to the end of his life, that hasn’t changed at all.
Best wishes, Pete.
You have made him a very happy dog.
What an amazing sunrise! It’s nice to read how you describe your cats to us … and to notice that even they know there have been changes in the house. Just to let you know: If any of those cute faces show up at my front door, my house will instantly become their home!