Time is Slow Without my Companion

My Zeldie, seriously missed!

It has been just over a week since my Zeldie passed away, though it feels more like months! The days have been slow and to say that I have been a bit lost without her would be an understatement! She made my days go by so quickly! Getting up to let her out and then in, stopping to pet her or follow her to her cat dish to give her a treat, or putting up the window shade in front of her cat perch so she could nap in the sunshine was part of her routine and became mine as well.  Cassie, our dog has been equally as lost and has sought me out more often for a pat on her head, or to come and sit by me.

I spent the first few days weeping and resting and then searched the internet for cats or kitties for adoption. I did find a beautiful cat located right in our little town. The advertisement showed a handsome cat with a dark brown face and with a beautiful beige-colored body with short white socks above its dark brown paws. It was sleeping peacefully draped across the back of a sofa. It appeared to be a very unique cat and I couldn't wait to email the owner and receive more information. Apparently it was a relatively young un-neutered male, though judging by the size of its body, it wasn't far from being fully grown. The owner said she had too many cats and was searching for a new home for this one.

When Zeldie was just a baby!  Where did the time go?

A cat to be reckoned with! I miss you Zeldie!

My husband identified it as a Siamese or Oriental cat, which was disheartening to me. I try to bear no prejudice, but I have had a Siamese cat before that I also thought was beautiful, until I got to know her better. I named her after the Peanut's comic strip character, Lucy, as she had a rather sour disposition and complained incessantly and wasn't quiet about it either! We weren't very compatible and I found her a good home with a person that was amused by her.  I had ceased to be very tolerant after she urinated on my bed pillow, and had to be grateful she didn't target my mattress instead! Perhaps she had confused me with the person who bobbed her tail? I wasn't a stay-at-home-cat-mother in those days, and I understand that Siamese cats like to have lots of attention and even then aren't easy to please!?

This teenage Siamese cat could be just the sort of cat I WASN'T looking to adopt, no matter how handsome. Likely he would perhaps only tolerate one squeeze from me anyway and prove to not be the affectionate cat I am looking for.  My Zeldie had a sweet little "mew", and commanded all she wanted with that tone of voice.  I remembered then several hard-learned lessons about breeds of animals. While there is a place for each, breeds can go with different temperaments and are critical to consider when choosing a life-long friend, besides which I hope that my companion will complement my own personality and not bring me more of the same challenges I face in myself!

I am continuing my search, but it is becoming more narrow in scope.  We need a female kitten, "young enough to train", my husband husband added.  "Does anyone ever train a cat?" I wondered and inwardly thought that I was the one that needed to be young enough to be trained to adapt instead for I think that is the way cats work?  Indeed, I have been working on getting younger every day for the past several years but I won't write about that subject now!

Presentation mini-quilt for memory quilt for my friend, Linda P.

Little overalls and mini-quilt made from E. Pollards bits of sewing.

Front side of traditional 9 patch, 2 sided memory quilt, ready for assembly.

As the days pass without my friend, I am trying hard to focus on doing small things. I am slowly making progress on a memory quilt. The pictures show some of the pieces that are done and I hope to put it altogether here soon. I am making it for a friend of mine. Hope grows as I see long term projects nearing completion. Each day also brings more revelations as to the sort of cat I am looking for.

I have found sweet-barn cat kitties but wonder about them not being litter box trained? Habits are formed early and want my next kitty to have all that she needs to better fit into our household, though I know that quirks are what makes each cat unique. Shelters and their fees are well-worth it for their arrangements with local vets to see to it that each pet gets de-wormed, vaccinated and neutered, and often at the cheapest price. We have had many cats with issues despite coming from the "best of well-intentioned owners". I have learned however, to never say "never".  We have had our own barn kitties, some of which have turned into the best pets ever, and perhaps the kitties at the shelters ultimately come from barn cats? 

We do wonder and wait as we add our name to kitty lists everywhere and pray hard that God above has the right one for us and arranges the best time and circumstances of our meeting.  I did tell my husband that I now appreciate seniors that I have seen  in nursing homes that carry small furry stuffed animals with them.  I am tempted! Perhaps imagined companions serve a useful purpose, though I still have a need for mine to purr and play, though the required cleaning of the cat box made me consider the option more seriously! I told my husband and he laughed.  He is taking on this mission of finding me another cat to save my sanity! Do pray that the right kitty will adopt us soon!   I am in much need!