Originally posted by slick
Oh Debbie!!!! I thread made just for us Feline Fogies!
Uummm.....I could write a book on this subject!

Tubby was a total terror when he was a kitten. Naturally, as he grew a little older he calmed down a bit, but he has always been the naw-tee one in the family. However, he has always been a snuggle bunny too. So, over the years, his snuggling has increased and his naw-tee-ness has decreased to the point where the only thing I have to yell at him about these days is licking on Peanut. He used to jump up everywhere - now he jumps nowhere except onto the bed with the help of his little step stool, and onto the couch, which isn't that high. He used to be "into" everything, now he's into sleeping. He used to have to always be the center of attention, now he makes an appearance and goes back to bed. He used to be healthy as a horse and I never took him to the vet, now he's on 4 different meds and I have to take him back in 3 months. He used to easily get over stimulated and bite, now he loves pets and very rarely gets cranky. He used to be curious about everything, now he acts like an old codger who's "been there done that, so what?"

Peanut on the other hand, has always been aloof and stand offish. Now in her dotage she is much more attention seeking and will even seek out a lap now and then. She never was one to play too much, and now she plays much more often. She used to be a meek little kitty that you rarely heard a peep out of. Now she's squeaking all the time - asking for treats, for attention, telling Tubby to leave her alone. She always liked to be up high and is now starting to not jump as much. She was never plump or anything, but now she is turning into a bag of bones. In the last few years I think she has really "come into herself." I think with the extra attention she gets from Terry (because Tubby was always such a hog of my attention) she has really turned into a little sweetie pie. I also think that as Tubby is slowing down, his role as Alpha is being questioned and she is asserting herself more towards him.

I don't miss coming home to a house in shambles but I do miss Tubby's curiousness. I don't miss the nightly "herd of horses" through the house, but I do miss that they don't play with each other anymore. I don't miss Tubby's incessant whining for treats, but I do miss seeing him by the window surveying his territory.

I've loved every minute of having each of them around and I've loved watching them get older and wiser and settling in in their old age. I'm not going to love watching their health decline any further and I'm going to miss both of them terribly when their time comes. But in the meantime, I love my snuggle bunny big boy and my aloof little princess to pieces.