As you know, Ollie was cruelly taken from us on Monday, 8th July. It has been a month now and it’s been really hard trying to come to terms with our loss.
For me, at least, everywhere I look in the house, there are ‘Ollie spots’; places where he’d sleep away half the day until moving to another of his favourite snooze spots when he’d sleep the rest of the day away.
For Sam and Casey: well, it’s hard to know how they’re feeling. Neither one of them seems to have been affected by Ollie’s absence. Sam, being deaf, lives in his own silent world. As long as he is fed, has a bowl of water at his disposal, and various comfortable places to sleep, he seems happy. Plus cuddles and snuggle times with me, of course.
Casey is still getting used to the lie of the land – and that was something that Ollie was teaching him – so he spends most of his day in the couple of places he likes where he can sleep and keep one eye on what’s going on around him.
He and Sam do not get on at all. There are fights all the time and although I’ve used Feliway diffuser in the main room they sleep in at night, there is little change in their behaviour. This saddens me. I’ve had two groups of 7 cats with 5 or 6 stalwarts of the main group and 1 or 2 new ones added. There has never been such ferocious fighting as Sam inflicts on Casey and it really frightens Casey – and upsets me.
Both Sam and Casey chose to come and live with me which I consider to be an honour and a privilege. I do not want to rehome Casey. Sam is 16 and has renal disease and I don’t know for how much longer he may be around. I want him to have as comfortable a life as possible so that his final months or years here are what are best for him.
Whenever a cat leaves an established family set up, the dynamics change. Ollie was the glue that held these two together. Ollie and Sam had been together for almost 11 years. Ollie brought Casey to our house and was a good friend to him, showing him the ropes.
We must remember that in life, there are always those who work away often unnoticed, but their presence is only missed when they’re absent from our lives. Ollie was a very big part of my life and his absence only shows even more, just how great a cat he was.
"One cat is company.
Two cats are a conspiracy.
Three cats is an attempted takeover.
Four or more cats is a complete coup!"
Shona Steele (Australia)