This is a hard post for me to write, and I realize that I am opening myself up for a lot of criticism here. Believe me, I've beaten myself up about the situation plenty and cried enough to fix the drought over here.
I sent Katie back to the rescue. My husband never really liked her from the beginning, but I refused to give up on her for a year and it was causing a lot of friction in the household. We adopted her to be a companion to Kyubey, and the two of them never did like each other. She meowed incessantly...and I do mean INCESSANTLY...sometimes for more than 2 hours at a time. She was also forever skittish about any movement or changes in the household...if we were sitting together on the bed or couch and I shifted my weight, she would spring up and BOLT across the room. She and Jasper would swat/snap at each other if one of them jumped on to a piece of furniture and the other one was up there.
I consulted a behaviorist...I modified the house and bought new cat trees so she had plenty of climbing and hiding areas. We used Feliway and Prozac. I played with her a LOT every day to exhaust her nervous energy. I made sure she had plenty of places to get away from Jasper. We arranged food, water, and litterboxes all over the house so there was no competition for resources. I truly do feel like I did everything I could to help her adjust into the household, and she was not happy. Plus...the Prozac...which stopped her from meowing all day...was ruining what little trust she had in me. If I gave her the Prozac regularly, she stopped the meowing but hid upstairs all day long and wouldn't allow me to touch her. If I weaned her off of the Prozac, she warmed back up to some touching but meowed constantly.
Returning her makes me feel like I failed her horribly. I wish I could have done something to let her know that she was safe here. I wish I had never adopted her so I wouldn't have to feel so guilty now. I wish a lot of things...mostly, I hope that someone sees how wonderful she is and takes her into a QUIET home where she is the only pet.
Good luck, Katie-bug. I love you.
As for the introduction part...Once the decision about Katie had been made, we knew we had to find a companion for Kyubey quickly. When he is without feline companionship, he howls desolately at doorways and pulls patches of his fur out. He is NOT meant to be an only cat! I was dropping my last batch of foster kittens off at the shelter and I spotted a pair of luminous orange eyes. They belonged to a four-month-old black kitten named Harper. I picked him up and he nuzzled into me, purring, and let me cry into his fur a bit. I had very mixed feelings about bringing a new permanent cat home while feeling like I had failed Katie so miserably, but I took a chance and brought him home.
I'm glad I did, though I still feel guilty right now every time I see him. Truly, he is NOT a replacement for Katie...he is a companion for Kyubey. If Kyubey hadn't needed someone I would have wanted to wait...possibly a very long time...before adopting again. I changed his name to Ember because of his luminous golden eyes, and he and Kyubey are well on their way to being pals already! He's a bit of a pest...tackling Kyubey at every opportunity and chasing tails/feet/pant legs. It takes me a good hour of play to tire him out, and then he's ready to go again after a nap!
I will have more to say about Ember once some of the guilt has faded. I do love him already, and I am glad he's here. Though...this photo makes me think that he may be plotting to kill me in my sleep!
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