It’s been 10 days since the Little Princess passed and Mr. Fatty is missing his sister. He used to spend his days with her sleeping in a warm spot or out in the back yard warming in the sun. This past week he’s moved through the house, stopping to investigate her favorite spots. Sadly, he looks around then turns to look at one of us and lets out a long and plaintive meow. We’ve had a few cats who’ve passed away and, while we deal with the loss, we have found it more important to help the remaining cats deal with it.

Cat fanciers have always knows that Cats feel the loss of a sibling as strongly as a human does. The old queen, Missey, went into a deep depression after her pal died; it was a year before she began to go back to her self. So we expect Mr. Fatty to need some help. In the last week Mr. Fatty has been sleeping in my room at night, something he never would have done before. He’s also been spending time with the Tonkinese, which he would never do before. He’s trying to fill a void. The big guy (he’s about 25 pounds) is also asking to be scratched move than in the past.

The Oak Court Cats are starting to settle into cold weather habits now. Fatty doesn’t spend much time outside (he’ll go out and sit in the morning sun for a while but comes back into a warm spot near a heater vent. The Tonkinese sits in the front window and stares intently at anything moving on the street. In warmer weather she’d be lying down under the bushes out front. Mr Big’s coat is thickening and the ‘collar’ (or mane) of light colored fur around his neck is filling out. Missey has reclaimed the corner of my bed (it’s by the window and has a southern exposure for more sunlight).

The cats go out later in the morning and tend to come back in an hour. They’re also eating for winter; unlike the summer when they take in a fair amount of food, in the winter they eat less as they tend to be lethargic this time of year. By 5:00 they’re all in for the day, settled into their favorite spots. Tonight 3 of the 4 have decided my bed is the place to be.

Nite!