One cat household

So, those of you on FB know that we lost Bonspiel. She was the matriarch of the house and ruled all the other cats. Nobody messed with her, even the kitten got his ears pinned back a couple of times while she was still fiesty. At the end she was not so fiesty. History of cats to follow so stop reading if you don't care.

In the beginning (when I moved to CT to marry Mrs. JH) there was Bonspiel and Domino. She had Bonspiel (hence referred to as Bomps cause that is shorter to type) and I brought Domino with me. The first two nights we were together, I slept on the couch. Seems Bomps always slept in bed with Mrs and of course Domino always slept with me. However, the bed (and fighting zone) was not big enough for the two of them. So, off to the couch with the Domino I went. They eventually figured it out and things grew relatively quiet.

A couple of years passed and someone decided we needed a kitten. I blame ours friends and scotch. At an Ardsley curling club party, there was a picture of a cute kitten. Mrs immediately started buying me scotch to listen the tongue to the yes word. Well it worked and Snickle (the baby) entered the house. Bomps loved him, Domino not so much. Bomps decided he was her baby and would groom him and curl up with him. Domino would hiss and spit at the Poodle (who knows where he got that name) and the Poodle would just ignore that and jump on Domino. It all quieted down mostly.

The most stressful times were "daddy lap times". I would settle in to the comfy chair to watch TV and it became a contest for the lap. Both Domino and Bomps would want to be there. Poodle would be content with curling up by my feet. Having two cats (both 15+ pounds) fight over your lap is not really that much fun. Things always worked out. One would end up pouting on top of the couch or somewhere.

At the end of 2008, we lost Domino. At 17 or so, it was a long life. Then we lost the Poodle in the summer to what we think was a brain tumor. No life left in him at the end. This week we lost Bomps, who slipped away quietly one day.

Now, we are left with the nutball who is Skippy. Part Domino, part dog, mostly crazy. He makes us laugh every day. He has not yet found the joy of curling up in my lap but that will happen. Took Poodle almost 5 years to be a lap cat. He will curl up with Mrs on the couch if I am not here. All the better to protect her as he is known to growl when a strange noise happens.

I am sure that sometime in the not so distant future there will be another addition to the family. For now we will enjoy the "quiet" that one cat provides.

Later,
JH