Gus was growing old.
His once-shiny dark gray fur had faded to the color of a tarnished
nickel. He paused before jumping onto
the bed so he could decide if his arthritic legs would be able to meet the
challenge. He also spent more time
curled up under his blanket. His
appetite had always been hearty, but now I had to entice him to eat by augmenting
his food with goodies. A CT scan confirmed
my suspicions of a nasal tumor, and he got used to having steroid tablets
popped down his throat every day.
Gus was my first
Cornish Rex, a cat breed with a short, curly coat; a lithe greyhound-like
stature; and a fun-loving, energetic personality. They’re known as the clowns of the cat world,
but he never quite fit the breed’s paradigm.
Playing was never his thing; he preferred to sit at the window and watch
squirrels frolicking in the trees. He
was a tolerant fellow. I occasionally
found him tightly swaddled in a blanket in a baby doll stroller, sound asleep,
or in drag, wearing American Girl Doll clothing, the handiwork of my young
daughter.
I realized his days were numbered, and a feeling of
melancholy gripped my heart. The thought
of eventually being without a pet saddened me. Although I loved the old-age
version of Gus, I also began to yearn for a young and energetic kitty, a
feeling probably intensified by the fact that my daughter had headed off
to her first year of college.
Is it fair to our elderly pets if we bring a youngster into
the home? That is the same question many
of my clients worry about. What if the
new pet bullies the senior pet: steals
his food, knocks him over, or just generally annoys the heck out of him? I pondered those possibilities, then took the
plunge.
A five-month-old Cornish Rex named Hogan arrived at our
house and gave Gus’s life a jolt. Hogan
was a whole lot of crazy fun, and Gus despised him. The kitten just wanted a friend, but his
attempts at play were usually met with a hiss and a swat.
Then something
interesting began to happen: Gus’s enthusiasm
for life was reawakened. He began to
follow the kitten and watch him play. His appetite and activity level improved. Occasionally he would even take a whack at an
enticing cat toy. The two cats were
often found entwined in Gus’s favorite cozy sleeping spots. Gus never really loved the new kitten, but he
grudgingly shared the last year of his life with him, and his life was thus
enriched.
I’ve heard many similar stories over the years. I’m not saying that it’s always a great idea
to bring an energetic youngster into the fold when you have a senior pet at
home, especially if your current pet is sick, unsteady on his feet, or otherwise
frail; common sense should prevail! But I
think dog and cat owners sometimes focus too much on how many years are in
their pet’s life. Better to focus on how
much life they have in their years, and adding a new pet might just be the
perfect antidote for old age.
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