Now meet Cassidy. Cassidy is now 12 years old, and is showing his age.
My daughter and I went to the local humane society 12 years ago, intent on getting two kittens. We saw quite a few very young (and somewhat sickly looking) kittens. And then we saw two brother kittens, about 10 weeks old, playing together in one cage, completely ignoring us. We walked over to the cage--they stopped playing briefly, sniffed our hands, then went back to tussling just like two little rambunctious boys. Of course, we picked them!On the way home, we talked about names. For some reason, my daughter wanted to name them Frank and Jesse (as in the James brothers) or Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. I wasn't wild about those names, so I suggested--if it's western quasi-outlaw names you want, how about Sundance and Cassidy. So that's what they were named.
Sundance was a gorgeous lovable cat. But after a couple of years, he began peeing almost anywhere except the litter box. In desperation, I tried putting every imaginable barrier--such as metal shelving--on the floor to keep him directed to the litter box. After a bit of time, we took him to the vet (duh!). Turns out he had chronic renal failure. He lived only 4 years; it was very hard to leave him go.
Now Cassidy is beginning to slow down some. You know the crazy things we do for our pets? Well, at some point I began giving him a small dish of food and water on my bathroom counter. And now that's his favorite place to eat. BUT. . .he can't quite make the jump these days.
So, what do I do? I build a stairway for him!
And since he can't jump up on our bed--one of his favorite sleeping places--we ordered a pet staircase. (I know, I know!)
Now our house is handi-cat-accessible!
That look proves the old saying: dogs have masters; cats have staff!
14 comments:
Oh, the things we do for our pets. That is wonderful. My cat lived to be 18, and she was still able to jump up on the bed, even though she had slowed down a lot.
If some people only cared for their children half as much...
Awww. Love the cat pics. And I know just what you mean - our house is filled with little quirks that came about as we cater to the animals. For the longest time we had a hideous cardboard box in our kitchen (one of those that a case of dog food cans came in) because the cats like to sit in it. It became part of our decor that I hardly noticed anymore, but I wonder what all our houseguests must have thought!
Oh now you know I just LOVE this post. Poor Sundance. He did look like a sweet boy. It's so hard to lose them when they're young. Now Cassidy looks like he rightly rules the roost! I have little stairs to my bed also. I initially had them for old Butterball but all the cats seem to use it so I think it is now a permanent part of my bedroom decor.
HA! I love that last picture of Cassidy! He looks like a cat with a bit of attitude, but don't all cats have attitude? That's why we love them. Years ago I had an old kitty (21!) who couldn't jump any more so I did the same and built steps for her for wherever she wanted to go.
I think we owe it to our pets to make their lives as comfortable as possible when they age. And hope someone will do the same for us.
Ah, Donna, that is so special. What a great cat lover you are.
First of all, I love your new look, Donna! It's bright and very pretty!
You made me laugh so hard. My Mom always had a cat and doted on that cat until we rolled our eyes. Her cats always had food and water available in different places around the house and she kept everything fresh! I wondered how much time she spent in a day refilling dishes.
You're doing a great job with your beautiful cats. There's NO LIMIT to what we do, is there? The stairs are perfect. We have an ottoman next to the bed so our dogs and get up there easily :o)
Cute post.
Mary
Very sweet! I love your cats! They look adorable and very well taken care of. : )
You are a wonderful mom to your beautiful fur children. It is easy to see there is a lot of love in what you do.
With this post I have tp block the view of my cat lying all over my desk and keyboard. He might want such aids and privileges.
You make it sound like one should aspire to come back as a cat next time.
I have never had a cat and chuckled at your "staff" status. We have always had a dog though and they have always been well loved and well mourned when they are gone.
This had to be one of my favorite posts, Donna. As you know we have a menagerie, even if we are down to two dogs and three cats. And we love each and every one of them. And we still miss those who have passed on.
Sundance has the same markings as the cat that had her kittens in our barn--I think it's beautiful trimmed in white like that!
I like your cat tree. We're thinking of constructing something for our family of kitties (5 including the 4 kittens we've kept)
Having a good working set-up for them will make our shared living space easier all around!
Yes, and I'm on staff.
Cassidy looks like a very happy, well-cared for cat. Yay for you to help him be able to keep getting up on the places he wants to!
I've heard that about cats and staff before but I think our dog Diva would probably say we are HER staff. She is very bossy!
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