>Another thought is that the old cat might enjoy teaching the >youngster to hunt (a skill usually passed from queen to kitten, but >often lacking in a cat if its parents were brought up indoors, or if >it was taken from the queen too early), while at the same time being >able to sit back and watch the youngster do the energetic bit!
This cat's first reaction to a mouse (many, many years ago) was to pursue it when it came up the basement stairs, corner it at the foot of the stairs to the second floor --- and back off in terror when it began to squeak in alarm! She was born in a townhouse across the street from me, and to my knowledge has only killed one mouse in all her 20 years. Since she's not noticing the mice now, and spends her entire day asleep on either the recliner, my husband's lap, or mine, she's beyond teaching anyone something she was never much interested in or talented at, alas. When we moved here in 1987, our original cat zoomed out the door, not to be seen again for two months (the humane society called me the day before she was scheduled to be put down - they didn't pair her picture up with her quickly). A month into her absence, my friends for my birthday gave me this 9-week-old kitten (whom I'd first met at age 3 hours, when she went to sleep in my hand for 20 minutes!). When the old cat came back, never again would she sleep on our bed - she abandoned that to the new cat. On the other hand, only ONE lap in the living room could be occupied, and only by the old cat (10 at the time). That older cat lived another 9 years, but the two of them never did care for each other. We had what we called "cat wars" - mad chases around the house from time to time, nasty swipes at the passing cat on the floor from the one on the piano bench, etc. I really don't want to do that to this one at this stage. I'm actually allergic to cats, but they do great things for my blood pressure and general attitude; I would like to get from the humane society what they call a "Purrfect Pair" - that is, a pair of cats that has been living together and would like to be adopted together, but that's a lot to ask poor Snuggles (sorry - I didn't name her!) to endure. I've been giving her special kidney-function kibbles, and cat vitamins+nutritional supplement - but she's still gone from being over 11 pounds down to about six and a half, and now even after I wipe her down with the cat shampoo and tease out the kitty dreadlocks (never had to do that when she could groom herself!), her coat is dulling. When she jumps down from a lap, her hindquarters give out. It's just a matter of time before she's history - but she still knows when it's food time, and when I should be in my prayer chair! -- ---------------------------------------------------------- Martha Krieg [EMAIL PROTECTED] in Michigan -- ---------------------------------------------------------- Martha Krieg [EMAIL PROTECTED] in Michigan To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
