Posted Sunday, May 12, 2013
On Saturday, April 13, 2013, our oldest cat, Shadow (10 years old) found a new home. Our son, Joe, and his wife, Elizabeth, came down from Minnesota for a few days, after which we drove them back to their home. Shadow rode in a pet carrier for the five-and-a-quarter-hour trip, including a 73-minute lunch stop in New Lisbon, Wisconsin. She meowed a lot for the first half hour or so but then settled down.
Shadow was considered to be Joe’s cat from the beginning, since he was the one who picked her out (really it was more like she picked him). Joe and Elizabeth were married in July of 2011 but had lived in an apartment at the college, where pets were not allowed, until recently, when they purchased a mobile home of their own.
Elizabeth had a golden Lab named Crystal; the dog was already at the house when we arrived. Shadow stayed away from her at first, but Crystal was excited and eager to make friends with Shadow. Once, when Crystal got up into Shadow’s face, Shadow quickly hissed once and swiped a paw across Crystal’s face as if to say, “Get out of my face!” But that was it. We were surprised, because back at our house, Shadow used to hiss and growl at Sunny (our male cat) whenever he came near her; sometimes they would fight and Shadow would scream at him, then run for safety to the bedroom.
The rest of that evening, Shadow stayed clear of Crystal, often hiding in the master bedroom. Joe was quite concerned about whether the two would eventually learn to get along, but his fears subsided within a few days; Shadow and Crystal are now getting along quite well together.
Back at our house, Sunny and Stormy (our other female cat) have been getting along better than ever. At this writing, I have only seen them fight once, and it lasted all of two seconds! And both cats have become very affectionate toward us: either of them will sit on our laps, or lay with us in bed, purring and stroking us until we fall asleep! It seems that Shadow’s move was the best thing for all three cats, though Wendi and I miss Shadow dearly.