You write such loving interesting tails of your beloved Ingrid. I'm glad to hear you are opening your heart to another kitty, and possibly another one after that. I have two kitties - one male and one female - and I love the differences between the two and the different dynamics that each brings to our life.

As Barbara mentioned, I lost my Tubby boy last December and I was as upset about it all as you were/are about your Ingrid. However, I knew I had to get another kitty right away. Peanut - my female - is 17 so I knew I couldn't get a kitten who would terrorize Peanut to no end, and I was also unsure that I was ready for the antics of a kitten since it had been 18 years since I had to kitten proof my house. Therefore I chose to adopt an older cat. Cracker Jack is 7 so he is old enough to be settled down a bit, but is still young enough to be kittenish at times, and even though he's supposedly "older", he still terrorizes Peanut to no end.

You are right in that no two kitties are alike, and your new kitty will not only look different from Ingrid, she will act differently also. It will take time for you to get to know her as well as you knew Ingrid. If you think about it, you had many many many years to get to know Ingrid - and her you. It will take just as long with the new kitty. Sometimes CJ is so much like Tubby that I can't get over it, but then he goes and does something that is so totally not Tubby that I can't get over it, so it's just a matter of letting time take its course and us getting to know CJ and him getting to know us.

Like Barbara said, I miss Tubby terribly, and will 'til the day I die, but I know Tubby is happy that I have opened my heart to another kitty. I think Tubby would have liked CJ and if I have any regrets at all, it is that Tubby and CJ didn't have a chance to meet each other.

Good luck with your new sweety. You will both go through an adjustment period, but I'm sure that you will both learn to love each other as much as you and Ingrid once did.