Sissy goes it alone…

Now that my dear sweet tortie kitty Ophelia is gone (see Ophelia is no more…), Sissy is an “only cat.” A rare occurrence in my household. I usually have at least two kitties, and oftentimes four.

But once in awhile, cat attrition occurs. Like now, leaving Sissy with the household to herself (and me, of course!).

Sissy and I are both adjusting to the change. She keeps looking around the house for Ophelia, and so do I.

But Ophelia has made some appearances from “the other side.” The first night after she died, her heavy slab of rough-sawn redwood, which she used to scratch every morning before heading off to munch on her wheat grass, was mysteriously and silently knocked over. I found it the next morning.

Then, two or three nights ago, about a week after Ophelia had died,  both Sissy and I heard her howling downstairs. It woke us both up.

Ophelia used to howl around late at night sometimes when she was alive, carrying around her little lightweight pink stuffed pig that was about the size of a six week old kitten.

More often, though, Ophelia would play with the pink pig, tossing it up in the air with her mouth, and then chasing it. It was so funny to watch her do this. ❤

I called the pink pig her “baby,” and she would go looking for it when I asked her where it was. She carried the  pink pig upstairs and then back downstairs regularly. I was always interested to see where it had landed up each day.

Anyway, as was the usual practice during her night-time howling sessions, I called down to Ophelia from my bed. But instead of coming upstairs when I called, as she used to do when she was alive, Ophelia went silent.

The next day I told Ophelia out loud that she didn’t have to hang around for my sake, and she hasn’t manifested herself since then.

Sissy is a much different kitty. She is not interested in toys or the cat tree.

I adopted them both at the same time from a local rescue center called Cat Welfare. Originally I had gone over there only to get Ophelia, whose photo and cat bio I had seen online.

But when I got there and confirmed my desire to adopt Ophelia, I saw Sissy hanging out with a group of other cats. I was drawn to her Abyssinian-type looks and decided to get adopt her, too.

It turned out that they didn’t much like each other. 😦

They used to have squabbles while waiting for their morning canned cat food to be dished up. And Ophelia liked to chase Sissy around, causing Sissy to growl quite fiercely and to defend herself with her claws.

Oh well! So much for having two cats instead of one. 😛

And now Sissy is an “only cat.” She seems to be adjusting.

I’m pondering whether to get another cat.  I’d love to have a kitten, but I don’t think Sissy would! 😛

I’m not in any rush to make a decision.