For most of my adult life, I’ve had Cats. The first kitten I ever owned was a black and white domestic short hair called Thomas .
When my Husband A and I had been dating around 2 years, (so, around the year 1999) he moved into my Father’s house ( and immediately into the spare bedroom) with my Father and I. He had just gotten himself an new job and, no yet having a car or a licence, it was decided that he would move in with us and thus cut the travel time in half getting to and from work.
Shortly thereafter, it was decided that we wanted a Cat. Naturally, my Father was against the idea but .. after much badgering ( erm, I mean asking nicely) we drove to a place giving away kittens for free and found Thomas.
Now, as much as I want to say that Thomas lived a long and healthy life as my furbaby.. I’m afraid that would be a lie .. For you see, Thomas became my Father’s best friend and for next 17 odd years, they were inseparable and it really was a lovely thing to watch and , if I’m honest, I think my Dad still misses him to this day.
In 2001, when A and I moved out and into a place of our own we weren’t planning on getting any pets. We’d just moved into a cheap rental and really didn’t want the responsibility of owning a pet.
That is, until the day we walked past Pets Paradise* in Forest Hill Chase and saw this beautiful little black and white kitten with a pink nose, push his paws against the glass and meow at us. It melted my heart and about a week later A got that little kitten for me as a surprise after work.
We named him Timozel -named after a character in the series of books we were reading at the time – The AXIS trilogy .
(His full name being Timozel Alexander P… for Puss Cat.. but moving on. )
We had him for 7 years. Over that 7 year period, Timozel became Timmy. Timmy became Timmy Puss and Timmy Puss became simply Puss-Wuss. Puss Wuss was largely an outdoor cat – but never went any further than our neighbours garden over the fence. In particular, her flower bed. From there he would while away the hours with his favourite pastime – watching her clean her house through the window.
Our neighbour enjoyed his company immensely and they became friends until our neighbour moved away to live closer to her Daughter.
A few years into the 7 years of Puss-Wuss – our little guy let us know he was lonely and really wanted a friend to play with ( Shut up! Cats can do that, you know) and so the hunt was on. We searched for weeks and weeks and weeks but to no avail.
Then, one Thursday night after work, we wandered into Pets Paradise in Eastland and decided to have a look at what was on offer. I had decided to choose from the little domestic shorthair kittens on display at the front of the store. I had almost made up my mind when my Husband called to me and said, “Hey Darl, come and have a look at this funny looking thing!”
So I did.
And there, up the back of the store, slightly off to one side, in a glass case were two very odd looking kittens. A white one and a black one. They were small, had oval shaped faces and their fur was short and curly. I almost turned away but then the little black one looked at me – His big moon eyes staring into my soul.. and in that moment my life changed forever.
“Do you want to hold him?” the store attendant asked as she opened the glass case
“Yes Please!” I said and as she handed me this little black Selkirk Rex kitten covered in his own poop – I knew he was mine. He started to purr and fell dead asleep in my arms. “You are coming home with me!” I stated matter of factly.
And he did.
Initially, I named him Snuffy after Mr Snuffleupagus on Sesame St because he waddled when he walked due to a broken tail. ( They told us he was the runt of the litter and the others walked all over him) but Snuffy ( Snuffington Cornelius Xavier III) made way for Mr Snuffles- when exactly, I can’t remember- and that was that.
It took a few months but it wasn’t long before Puss-Wuss and Mr Snuffles became best mates and did almost everything together. Played together, went outside together, slept together and more often than not, got into trouble together as well.
Dinner time became the “Me Me ” and “I want” show ( You had to be there) and it wasn’t long before we had a wonderful little family unit.
When Mr Snuffles was 5, Puss-Wuss became unwell with a blockage that made him unable to urinate. We took our little guy to the local 24 hour Vets and the only solution they gave us was to put our little man to sleep. They refused to do surgery unless we could pay $1300 there and then on the spot and even though we said we’d have the money – they just needed to give us till we got paid, they said no … and so.. We had to say goodbye.
The 5 years that followed, Mr Snuffles was largely on his own. Oh, how we spoiled him. With treats and toys. With cuddles and snacks. With adoration, love and affection. All day. Every day. Did Mr Snuffles miss Puss-Wuss? Of course he did! In the days that followed his passing, Mr Snuffles would sit at the back door and wait for Puss-Wuss to come inside. But ultimately, once he realised Puss-Wuss wasn’t coming back he kinda just got on with things and, in a way, so did we.
Facebook has been a thing in my life since 2007. From throwing farm animals at your friends – to never ending poking wars – Facebook has been at the forefront of just about everything there is . Facebook is how I found Miss Floof.
In 2016 I was browsing Selkirk Rex rescue pages on Facebook and I came across an ad for a female Selkirk Rex Tabby – 1 year of age and looking for a forever home. I immediately put my hand up to take her. She looked absolutely beautiful and her description said that she was well natured, gentle and loved to play.
The arrangements were made via FaceBook DM’s and about a week later, Miss Floof or “Casserole” as she was known at the time, was a welcome addition to our home.
Casserole took to our place like a duck to water and immediately began to act like she owned the place. Mr Snuffles was none too impressed to say the least and BOY did he let us know it!
The name “Miss Floof” wasn’t supposed to happen. We had decided to name her Isobelle ( Isobelle Prudence Guinevere to be precise) and despite weeks of trying, she just wasn’t responding to it. We tried “Miss” and “Little Miss” with limited degrees of success “Belle” fell on deaf ears entirely.
One day Casserole was wanting smooches and jumped up on the back of the couch to greet us. Her fur was mental and sticking up everywhere like she’d just has a run in with a fork in a power socket “Floof Nugget!” I exclaimed, thinking nothing of it ” How are you?”
Well, her tail went up and her ears did the same. She has ( finally) chosen her name and thus Miss Floof was and still is.
In the 6 years that followed, the relationship between Mr Snuffles and Miss Floof wasn’t exactly what you’d call easy going.
Many a times they’d play and chase each other around the house only to suddenly fight and get cross with each other. Mr Snuffles earned the name “Captain Clean Air” because whenever she got too close to him – he’d make like she was polluting his personal space.
Ultimately though, they figured it out and had the kind of relationship where they tolerated each other.. well, Mr Snuffles tolerated her anyway. Which was better than not at all.
Mr Snuffles passed away in November 2022 a few weeks shy of his 16th Birthday.
When he passed away, it left A and I bereft with grief. Our whole world shattered and fell apart because our little baby boy was gone. We loved him more than words. More than anything in the whole world.. and to move on without him seemed impossible.
The morning after Mr Snuffles passed I sat in my office and cried. I cried until I screamed. Then I screamed myself hoarse until I couldn’t anymore … and then I cried again until I had no tears left. **
To the credit of Miss Floof, she was right there for us being cute and fluffy and trying to make A and I laugh through our grief and sorrow. It was during this time the decision was made – No More Cats.
It hurt to much. Once it was time for Miss Floof to join her brother over the rainbow bridge – that was it. No more Cats. No more pets of any sort. It was to painful. Besides, pet food cost a fortune. We can hardly afford to feed one cat – let alone two! We’re a one Cat household! Miss Floof will be better off with just us!
Somehow, we managed to justify all that and more to ourselves and over the next 12 months we focused on making a family with just the three of us. It was odd and awkward at first as A and I missed Mr Snuffles terribly ( And I believe Miss Floof did as well in her own way) so, there was a very long adjustment period while we all got used to this new dynamic.
No More Cats Indeed!
Which brings me to the now and the reason I wanted to write this blog.
There comes a point where you have to not only admit – but accept – that you are better off with two cats in your life than just one. Not because you don’t love the one cat any less … It’s just… Two cats seem to complete you. Two cats make you feel safe. Two cats are just that ..Two cats.
You can’t describe why you feel better with two cats in your life … You just do. It works and somehow, you know, that everything will be OK.
We recently adopted an 8 year old long haired domestic Cat named Jet. We found him via Urban Feline Australia ( Shout out to Daniel from UFA for all your help) and immediately took to him. We were told he’d had a rough life – going from pillar to post, from adoption to adoption ( the last one dumping him at a Vets door all matted and messed up after deciding they didn’t want him.) and so, we discussed it and decided to take him in.
His full name is Jetson Oliver Periwinkle. He seems to answer to either Mr Jet, Jetson, Mr J, Little Man or Buddy but has yet to let us know he’s preferred name of choice. He’s such a chill little guy and in the four days since we’ve bought him home he’s settled in quite well.
Miss Floof is put out, obviously but… She’s slowly starting to come around and realise he’s no threat.
It’s early days but I must say things are progressing nicely. We are convinced our two kittens will soon become friends … or at the very least tolerate each other without the hissing.
At this point we’ll take either
Keep you updated as things progress
Ceej
*Pets Paradise was a pet store chain back in the late 90’s early 00’s . They were all closed down after struggling financially and went into receivership
** Even though it broke me to pieces, A was with Mr Snuffles when he was put to sleep.
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