Retirement Pets

I have a decision to make over the next year or two. Money is certainly involved, but it’s not primarily a financial decision.

Currently, our daughter is living with us while she saves up money to buy her own townhouse or condo. She’s a huge lover of cats (understatement of the year). A few years ago, I noticed the jet-black feral cat that hung out across the street at our neighbors’ home was carrying a kitten around by the neck. I told my daughter; she was able to hold the kitten and of course, she fell in love.

Several days later, we separated the tiny tuxedo kitten from her mom and made a trip to the vet. Poor kitty had a nasty cough, had been covered with fertilizer, and was sporting some serious discharge in one of her eyes. Following the vet visit, none of us could bear to again expose the kitten to the perils of living outside with her mom (there were no other kittens in the litter).

My daughter adopted the kitten and named her Blossom Theodosia. It turns out she was probably no more than four weeks old, a little young to be separated from her mom. Fortunately, we had an older tuxedo cat named Sam at home. At one time, we had three cats, and of the three, Sam could be a bit of a bully. Still, the kitten seemed to arouse Sam’s paternal instincts. He was patient with Blossom even though her kittenish badgering was relentless. Sam was never nasty with Blossom but did teach her the limits of acceptable behavior. When she came into the same room as Sam, he would often greet her with a happy chirp. Sam was protective of Blossom when our overly curious Sheltie, Cleo, got a little too close. Blossom loved to sleep next to Sam in the laundry basket, where Sam would attempt to take refuge after he’d had enough activity. In short, Sam taught Blossom how to be a cat in the absence of her mother.

Sadly, Sam died about a year after we got Blossom. A couple months after that, Cleo also went over the rainbow bridge, leaving Blossom as the only pet left in an animal-loving household. Yes, she’s very spoiled by all of us. When my daughter eventually moves out, she will of course take Blossom with her, leaving us without a pet.

I miss having a dog around. Cleo was my third sheltie and it would be hard to accept that she was the last one. She was an intelligent, happy dog with just a streak of independence. My wife Lisa has given me permission to get another Sheltie or small dog though her preference would be to just have a cat or two.

Dogs are considerably more work than cats. Still, their affection is more predictable and they definitely give better greetings when you come home. Cats amuse me to no end. I’m the kind of guy who helps make funny cat videos go viral. But in our mid-sixties, do we really want to add a cat or two and a dog to our household?

In terms of a happiness-to-dollar ratio, it’s hard to beat a cat or a dog for me. I’m getting to the point in life where there’s a reasonable possibility a new dog or especially a cat may outlive me. I’m confident my kids would make sure any surviving pets are well taken care of if Lisa and I were both to pass away. Adding a cat or two after Blossom moves out wouldn’t cramp our lifestyle much. Bringing up a pup would definitely require more patience and effort, as well as potentially complicating future travel plans. For now, I will content myself with Blossom’s companionship. But next spring, I know my longing for a new pet will resurface.

Postscript: Inky, the young feral cat who gave birth to Blossom, was adopted by our neighbors after she had another litter of kittens. She’s now living her best life as a domesticated indoor cat, along with two of her offspring.