Loving a New Cat when Your Old Cat Dies

I haven't had a cat in years. The last cat I had lived 18 years and when she died, I just gave up on the thought of finding another one that I could love so much. That cat followed me from Alabama to Georgia to Colorado. It finally ended up in Alaska with me. I tried a few times with other cats. Both ran away from home as soon as they could get out the door. One day though, I was doing chores in the kitchen and looked out the window at the lovely wooded lot that belongs to the neighbors. I saw a tiny furry form leaping from the grass. It was headed straight to the road. I ran outside and saw that two men were walking down the street. The tiny kitten leaped to them, meowing as loudly as it could. The men kept throwing the cat back into the bushes in front of the neighbors house to no avail. The kitten would just leap from the bushes and back to the mens legs. The two guys finally gave up and kept on walking towards home. When they crossed the street, the kitten followed. I went up to them and told them, "I'll take that kitten". With a giant smile on my face, I carried the tiny furball towards my house. As I walked, I noticed a smaller, weaker meow. I looked towards the grass on that wooded lot and saw an even tinier kitten, running as fast as it could towards me. "Great", I thought. "Now I have two to tend to". I was trying to remember that my intention was to give them care and get them healthy enough to find foster homes.

Upon closer inspection, both kittens were malnourished and flea infested. Luckily I had some cat supplies left over from my last runaway kitty that came in handy. The smaller kitten actually made a sound. Not with its mouth, but with its body. When I held his torso up to my ear and moved his skin around between my fingers it made a sound like crumpling up paper. I instantly named that cat Krispy. To this day I still don't know what caused that kitten to make that kind of sound, I assume dehydration or something similar. The healthier kitten was named Krunchy to match its sister.

After much cleaning and tending to the kittens were ready to go inside. They instantly used the old cats' litter box and I never had to train them. They frolicked with my two young children and loved to be held and petted. There was no way I could get rid of them by then.

Sadly, Krispy had an awful infection from a wound on her neck and died about a week later. Krunchy and I were heartbroken for some time.

Krunchy is much bigger now. As much as I love him he gets on my last nerve daily. From midnight sprints to rogue urination, he covers all bases when it comes to bad behavior. He seems to love the family though and is making an attempt to do better so I'm being patient with him. He is still gentle with the children and is their favorite playmate.

I am hoping to have this cat for 15 years or more like my old cat. I get more familiar with him everyday. The unique way I found him and what we've been through together makes me love him even more.

Sometimes it takes a while to find the right cat match for you when you've had a cat for a long time and it dies, but always keep an eye out for potential pet buddies. When you find that cat you love you will know it, because it will love you just as much.