Tabby Time

In my last article on this site, I talked a great deal about our black and white cats, our oldest, Allie, and our youngest, Cookie. We have two other cats, and it occurred to me that they might be jealous, so I will feature them now in this article.

Our second oldest cat is Naomi. She is now about 15 years old.

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Naomi, helping me to write this article right now

She is a shy, sweet girl. She came to us when she was about 10 months old.  Our oldest cat at the time, Sassy, had to go to the vet on a regular basis for a chronic health condition.

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Sassy, near the end of his life. He was a good boy.

Naomi was living at the vet at the time, looking for a forever home. She was always hiding in the litter box. Every time, my spouse would want to say hello to her, which I thought was dangerous. Eventually, I gave in and said that we could meet her and see what she was like. She sat in my arms with her head snuggled in my elbow. She came home with us that day.

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Naomi, at about 4 years of age

When she was younger, she and Allie had a difficult time getting along with each other for quite a long time.  It seems that they have come to an understanding recently. It seems that for cats as well as for people, differences seem less important the older they get.

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The whole family together last December

The large orange cat in the lower left hand corner of the bed is our second youngest cat, Sunshine. He is now about 10 years old.

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Sunshine, posing for the camera right now

He was actually the only cat who came to us when we were intentionally trying to increase our furry family.  For a time Allie and Naomi were our only cats, and as I said, at that time, they did not like each other very much. Allie is quite the extrovert, while Naomi is very much an introvert. We thought if Allie had another companion, she would bother Naomi less.

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Sunshine, around 6 months after he arrived at our house

We went to PetSmart, which was having an adoption weekend, and we did not find anyone. As we were about to leave, we saw a corner in which we had not yet looked. Far in that corner was a young, orange cat who reached out his paw and touched me. When we brought him home, he came in like he owned the place, and both Allie and Naomi acted almost as if they knew him. We think he might be a reincarnation of Sassy.

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Poor Naomi. Siblings can be a bit of a bother.

This past summer, another orange tabby started coming around. We named him Romeo, because he would meet our youngest girl, Cookie on our balcony through the window. Eventually we started feeding him, and he became quite friendly.

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Romeo

We were quite worried as to what to do with him. We would have loved to bring him in, but our house is already filled to capacity with kitties. As it turned out, a friend of a friend who had a farm needed another cat to work in the barn keeping mice away. He now lives with 3 girl cats and as of last report, he has adjusted and is doing well.

UPDATE

9/18/18

Our little Naomi had a seizure earlier today, and when we took her to the vet, all they could do was to end her misery. For such a little cat, she has left a big empty space in our home and in our hearts.

Naomi Perching

Rest in Peace, Naomi