When the Buddies were younger, when we lived in South Carolina, we did a lot of animal rescue. Specifically, we rescued a lot of cats, though there were a number of other animals that we rescued as well. We befriended the cats (always one at a time), took them to the vet and got them neutered or spayed, got them all their shots, and fostered them until we could find them a good home, usually with one of our friends. It was just what we did.
Our cats got it. They might not have all liked it, but they got it. Once we had a foster who lived with us for two years. He was a member of the family by the time we found him a home. (Which didn't work out, and we had to find him another home.) He was a sweet boy, and we would have kept him if we could, but at the time we just couldn't justify having six cats. It seemed like too many...like we were tempting fate or going off some very deep end by doing so.
And then we met Elroy, and the rest, as they say, is history. Now, we couldn't imagine life without him, and it was all because we took that risk and decided that maybe we could take our sizable feline household up to a much less rational notch of six. It was insanity--you can't have four male cats in the same household. You'll have constant fighting, constant spraying. But something about Elroy's sudden earnest acceptance of us and his open, trusting nature made us take the plunge. And we've never looked back.
So, six it was. Crazy? Yes. Improbable? Sure. But for some strange reason, with the particular mix of the particular cats we had, it has worked. I'm not saying it's always been perfect, because it certainly hasn't. Otto still doesn't like Mister and only tolerates Elroy. Reggie can't stand Otto and avoids Mister like the plague. Mister, of course, hates everyone except Wanda, and even so, he'll still beat up on her if the moon is in a particular phase and the planets are aligned just right. Which is to say that, even if things aren't always rosy, they're always real. And I really, really love the unique chemistry we've created as a family. All the drama and swatting and Reggie screaming bloody murder when Otto so much as looks at him the wrong way--I love all of it.
So when we have contemplated adding another cat to our household--seriously, this time--it has not been without its share of angst. First of all, she has to be a girl. We may be crazy, but we're not stupid, after all. Another male would send Mister right over the edge. We have at least a fighting chance he may regard a female as an ally. We're considering adopting another Siamese (not a lilac-point, though), which we hope will satisfy the Meezer contingent. And we think that a younger cat might be just peppy enough to jump in and tussle with Reggie and Elroy, who are the most energetic, kitten-like geriatric cats you'll ever see in your life. It might be good for them to shake up their play-time a little.
If you're noticing a theme here, it's not a coincidence. Yes, we're making a decision about bringing another cat into our household by strategizing about how we can do it in such a way as to make the most Buddies happy and to produce the least amount of stress in the household. It's not like our cats are "spring chickens" anymore. It doesn't help that we're in the middle of an upstairs porch project in which the Buddies, for the fifth house now, will finally have their very-own screened-in porch. (Yep, we're building another "catio.") With all the banging and sawing and drilling going on, a new cat is probably the last thing our buddies want to contend with. So we'll wait, until we have a porch for them all to enjoy, and hopefully a little more peace and quiet again.
But then, and I didn't think I'd get to the point of saying this again, I think we're going to add another Buddy to the already rich mix. It could turn out to be a disaster. But then again, I made peanut butter cookies the other night and decided on a whim to add some semi-sweet chocolate chips, and those turned out okay. I couldn't find a recipe for that anywhere, and just decided to do it. Apparently, when it comes to peanut butter cookies, people seem to be of the opinion that you shouldn't mess with a good thing. And yet, adding the chocolate chips made them extra delicious.
Will this be the biggest cat mistake we've ever made in our lives? Or could this little girl be the chocolate chips that bring our Buddy co-existence to the next level? The only way to find out...is to take the plunge and see what happens.
And never, ever look back.
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