So I adopted a 17 year old cat today. I was at MAADC, the Milwaukee pound, as I'd given LuLu a ride to pick up her kitten post-neutering. I'm not saying I knew I would be adopting a cat when I went with Lu, but I'm not saying it wasn't a possibility.
I had seen, online, a cat named Oliver, age 17, and a hefty 13 pounds. So I asked to see him in person, and, while Lu waited in the car with her kitten, Junie and I were introduced to Oliver.
He was as big as advertised, very chill, friendly (but not a purr-er, at least not yet) and spry for his age and size; twice the volunteer stopped him from leaping atop a filing cabinet. He had been a stray in 2009, when he was adopted and spent the next 15 years in the same household, coming back to MAADC after his owner's death. He had been front-declawed, something we would never do nowadays, but was common a few decades ago.
I had mixed feelings, knowing that at 17 our time together would amount to a few years at best, but in the end I said yes to taking him home.
And then, as I was checking out, a family came in saying they were there to see Oliver. Perhaps, I thought, a family a little less chaotic would suit him better. So I approached them and offered to let them skip the rest of the line and meet Olivier; if they wanted him, I would pass on him and wish them the best. In a burst of introspection, I also wrote this in the family chat:
I'm also in a depressive episode right now, and I want to make sure I'm acting rationally [by adopting Olivier] and not out of a need to fill a void.
A few minutes later the family came out and said they did NOT want Oliver; he was too old! Why ask to see a 17 year old cat if his age was an issue?
I took it as confirmation from on high that I was making the right decision. I adopted him right there, on the spot.
We ran some errands before heading home, and he kept popping his head out of the cat carrier, like a little furry tank driver
Once we were home, Kahuna was NOT having the new addition.
Quoting Junie:
Airplane ears. Mad as hell. Side eye. . . but she started purring immediately after being taken upstairs and thrown onto my bed lmao
So far the dogs have been ok with Olivier. Sawyer has honored the warning hisses and kept a distance, while frankly Huckleberry seems afraid of him LOL I'm sure they'll be a dustup eventually, as Sawyer will want to test him out, but Oliver seems to have a been there/done that attitude that I hope will end the matter quickly.
I don't know how long he'll be with us - I hope a few years - but we hope to make the final chapters of his life good ones.
