Background

Cash is our first grand-kitty. This adorable Manx was adopted from the shelter right before Christmas of 2019. Before adopting, my son and his girlfriend fostered him in his infancy. He could fit in the palm of your hand.

Later that spring, in the heart of quarantine, a new grand-kitty named Mo arrived. Older than Cash, this bashful Mancoon mix was given to my daughter because his original owner had to move and could not have pets in the house. That friend saved Mo from an abusive environment. It was hard at first for Mo to get used to people, he adapted. He lives in a fun, safe home with cat roommates to always keep him company. He is truly an indoor cat. He could stand in front if an open door and just stand there; no intention of going outside. He pokes his head out the door,looks at this “ new world”, then goes back. ( like a turtle)

This past summer, we became grandparents again. Cash has a new little brother named Otis. Not real brothers, but he was adopted from the same shelter. Otis is also a Manx with a black and white fur pattern.

They may not be human grands, but we spoil them as if they are. Cash and Otis ride in a small animal stroller and Mo has a condo. I share pics of them; like the one above.

The cousins meet

Mo does not travel too much. He’s a very big cat and hates travel carts. My daughter and boyfriend managed to get Mo in the car and spend a few days for Thanksgiving 2021

Cash has been to the house many times and already established territories. Once my son and his girlfriend arrived, they opened the cart door and Cash immediately went to his place in my daughter’s old bedroom, only to be greeted by a sleeping Mo.

Mo was happy to see Cash, but Cash was not happy about sharing the house with another cat. As he let out a huge grumble, my son stopped Cash in his tracks and reprimanded him. I’m laughing thinking, ” OMG, he’s putting the cat in time out! ” But Cash listened and followed directions. The cousins mostly followed each other around and butted noses every time they had an encounter.

Cash jumped on the kitchen counter and looked back at Mo on the floor. It’s as if he was saying ” C’mon! Follow me.” Mo sadly looked up and had the ” I can’t ” face. Mo, as mentioned earlier, is a big thick fluffy cat. Cash is trimmer and more agile. When my son clapped his hands and said NO!, Cash immediately jumped down and Mo thought ” Whew!” Good thing I can’t do that, I would be in big trouble.”

HSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

Prior to Otis’ arrival, Cash moved from an apartment to a house where he would acquire his very own room. He had the run of the house, and when he got bored with the items in the house, he discovered a new play area called the backyard.

One day, while the girl human was working from home, Cash soaked some rays in the middle of the yard when a girl cat dug a hole under the fence and encountered Cash. They became instant friends. The only way the girl human knew this was because she watched the camera from the backdoor and saw Cash lead his friend through the flap door into the house.

The next time he was out, he discovered the hole under the fence and went over to her house. When the humans called him in to come home, he protested and hissed at them. He never did that before. In two years time, Cash became a ” teenager”

He eats all my food

We cat-sat for a few days before Thanksgiving. If Otis sees food, he eats it. You have to have a strategy to feed the two cats because if you don’t, Otis eats both bowls of food. Cash seemed to grow out of his little rebellion. He tends to Otis and protects him and make sure he looks good .I guess he knows what it is like to be that little. Otis follows Cash everywhere. Cash does not try to take Otis’ food, but when Cash is eating his own food, Otis will push his little head in and Cash moves back; letting Otis eat. ( HMMM )

On Thanksgiving morning, I awake to a ripped up bag of dinner rolls. They were severely attacked. They were on the counter top. Cash likes to jump on the counter top when no one is watching. Otis tries to follow Cash, but the poor baby comes up short. We believe it was Cash who attached the dinner rolls. Makes sense; he’s the only cat who can jump that high and he was hungry since Otis eats all his food.

No, not the cornucopia

Otis may not be able to jump on counter tops, but he did figure out to use a dining room chair to then jump on the dining room table. He is talented enough not to knock the crystal over, but he sure did like attacking the centerpiece cornucopia.

He eats like a hobbit

At Christmas, the brothers were back. Otis meows every other hour wanting food. One morning, I got up about 8 am and he was meowing. Fine, I feed him breakfast. When my visiting sister-in-law came to the kitchen, she asked what’s up and I said I just fed them breakfast. She said, that’s funny, I fed them breakfast at 5am. So this cat had ” 2nd breakfast” I’m sure he’ll be meowing again at 11am.

One Year Later

I visit my son only to be welcomed by a very large cat.

Remember I said Otis eats a lot? He is larger than Cash. When he sits in your lap, he sinks in and can’t let you go. As my mother would say, he’s a “ sack of potatoes “

We stayed overnight. The room we stayed in is Otis’ normal hangout . With the door closed, he became our alarm as he butts his whole body knocking on the door.

“Aunt” Jedna

After a few years living with grand- kitties, we felt it was time to add to our family

Jedna ( pronounced YED-na ) is a torti; half Siamese, not sure of dad. Mom is my sister-in-law’s cat who gave birth to 4 little girls; each named by counting in Polish. Jeden is the Polish word for 1. Add an a at the end to feminize it.

I’m predicting we can get the felines together this Christmas and mayhem will ensue. Stay tuned.

Thankfully…

At this writing, Jedna has had encounters with one of her sisters ( gee, I wonder where the term “ catty “ comes from ) and 2 dogs. As the dogs entered the house, she became possessed. The back went up and she made a groaning hiss.

Thanksgiving was quickly approaching and Jedna underwent her neutering 2 days prior. We took her home the day before the holiday . She immediately went back to her normal self ( no pain or discomfort). Later that day, Cash and Otis arrived. She looked at them curiously and began following them all around the house. Otis was just as curious as her, but Cash grumbled. He seemed unhappy about another cat in the house. It took a couple of days for them to warm up to each other. Later, the sister arrived. No change in that relationship.

Not to Be

The Christmas plan to have all the cats here did not happen. Jedna’s mom ( Tasha ) and two sisters ( Dobra and Ladna ) live in Mississippi. That’s a 7-9 hour drive; tough on one cat yet alone three.

Cash and Otis could not come because Cash underwent surgery a couple of weeks earlier.

Not His Year

At 4, Cash is becoming an old man. He is still very protective of Otis. Earlier this year, the humans knew something was off when he was shooing Otis away and did not want to be bothered. Meanwhile, his appetite waned. After a vet visit, it was discovered he had Covid. YES, animals can get COVID too. He had to be given injections each day if a med that had to be shipped here from China. But it worked. He got his appetite back and he continued to play with Otis

Shortly before Christmas, Cash was found in a corner coughing and heaving. The human tried to help him. It looked like he coughed up some yarn ( girl human is a knitter )

Just when they thought it was over, Cash was coughing and heaving again in the middle of the night. It was so bad, they rushed him to animal ER. An X-ray was done and they found more yarn in his stomach. Later that morning, he underwent emergency surgery to remove the yarn.

With a new kitten ourselves, we are now ultra careful about anything stringy.

In the meantime, we went through our open enrollment at our jobs for choosing health benefits. For the first time, I see they offer pet insurance. After these two events, we may just choose that.