Two quick things:
First:
Thanks to everyone who was so kind in your responses to my farewell to Tikka. It meant a great deal to read the outpouring of love for that magnificent cranky old beast, and I was very moved by the stories of the losses of beloved companions. I know we’re not supposed to say this out loud, but y’all are good people.
Second:
Tikka left a hole in our household. Champ feels it. She’s been very needy, somewhat confused, and constantly next to one human or another–mostly me, as I keep a bed for her next to my computer. She’s here as I type this:
The humans do too. Even though I was Tikka’s person, my wife and kid both feel the same absence I do. I had been planning to let that just be the way things are for a while, but we all knew another cat was in our future. That thought made its way to the same folks who connected us with Champ–letting us know one day in the first pandemic summer that there was a kitten who needed a rescue and if we said yes she would arrive tomorrow. And she did:
Well…they’ve done it again and my son has just let me know that the vague intention of a cat we expected to meet in late summer or fall will arrive in a few hours. Seems another little one needed a home and we’re it.
It will be interesting to see how and how fast Champ adjusts. Tikka was surprisingly mellow when she arrived. Here’s hoping for a repeat.
I’m a bit stunned and am really not ready…but that’s how this works. Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.
I’ll provide an update when blessed increase arrives.
And again: thanks y’all. It was a comfort to write that farewell post, and more so to receive the Jackaltariat reaction.
Treat this as an open thread.
zhena gogolia
Exciting!
suzanne
That’s how it go. Congrats!!!
BeautifulPlumage
Hmmm, posted @ 3:18 pm blog time + “a few hours” = kitten pics by 7 pm blog time? : )
Tom Levenson
@BeautifulPlumage: uncertain. My son is running this rodeo.
Kayla Rudbek
Sorry for your loss of Tikka. I hope that Champ gets along with the new kitty.
BeautifulPlumage
I interrupt this post for an important announcement
Thanks, Onion!
And congrats to the whole family!
Spanky
The story of my life so far.
The cats have chosen you, Thomas Levenson. You have nothing to decide.
NeenerNeener
Hmmm… “Blessed Increase” sounds like an interesting name for a cat.
Sure Lurkalot
No reason to fight destiny, clearly, that sweet kitty needs your family and all the cat love you have to spare.
I just started reading So Very Small and I’m already enjoying the writing and what it’s going to teach me. One of my favorite books that touches on your subject matter is Destiny of the Republic, about the assassination of Garfield. One of the “side” stories was about arguments over his medical care.
Best of luck with the book and I hope the cat introduction goes well.
Spanky
BTW, I see she has fingerless gloves like our girl Olivia. She approves.
Spanky
@Sure Lurkalot:
Ah, I hadn’t heard about that, but I’m not too broke up. I was never partial to ginger cats.
TaMara
Welcome to my world. I await photos and updates!
We did go to a cat cafe last week, and no cats followed us home. Though it was tempting.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@TaMara: cat cafe = crack house
MazeDancer
Wonderful news! Clearly, Tikka working those angel wings for you.
My experience is nothing helps the ease the pain of losing a cat like getting another cat. The pain doesn’t go away. But the expansion of love just helps.
May Champ be happy, too.
rikyrah
What a cutie pie 😻 😻
prostratedragon
Habemus felinis!
(I think)
rikyrah
@TaMara:
The cat cafe🥰🥰😻😻
prostratedragon
@NeenerNeener: A New England cat.
Kayla Rudbek
@TaMara: if I was a single person, I probably would have the maximum amount of cats that the county would allow.
Layer8Problem
Best of luck with that cute little kitten and Champ!
Professor Bigfoot
So sorry for the loss of Tikka, but The Cat Distribution System obviously has you pegged, you lucky fellow! (more accurately— what lucky kitties!)
May you all find more joy in each other.
zhena gogolia
@Spanky: I believe that’s a picture of Champ.
Joy in FL
That is a lucky
newcatBlessed Increase : )Rose Judson
As a fellow tuxedo cat servant, I want to repeat my condolences about the loss of Tikka. Hope the newcomer slots in quickly.
WaterGirl
I have never heard of a cat cafe before. Charming idea. And dangerous! :-)
pat
Suzy, “senior, declawed” came to live her best life with us a week after we lost Pablo. She had been abandoned in a humane society when her family moved away. She slept the first night in our bed and I can’t imagine life without her.
So good news on your new cat! Photos, stories, please.
Old Man Shadow
Best way to honor your departed friends is giving a new friend a forever home filled with the same love. Good luck and bless you.
scav
That little Blessed Increase is very much expecting what is their due in that photograph. Needy in a mere practical sense yes, but those eyes, ears and nose are waiting to see how well those needs will be met.
eldorado
the cat distribution system continues it’s work
Another Scott
Thanks for the update. Someone smart once said the only solution to cats is more cats. :-)
Another interesting update – KyivIndenpendent.com:
Oh My! [/Takei] It’s really, really good to see someone newly in power speak the truth plainly and clearly in foreign affairs. More, please.
Best wishes,
Scott.
NotoriousJRT
I hope the new little one brings entertainment, joy, and companionship to all in your.home. Tikka’s paws can never be fully replicated, but I hope the new kitty makes the empty space fill and fade.
zhena gogolia
@Another Scott: Thank you, Leo!
Bex
@prostratedragon: If it’s a boy, he could be named Leo.
trollhattan
Heh, that didn’t take long,
Congratulations and a side note, you seem to live in a feline monochromatic universe. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Enjoy that new little troublemaker!
trollhattan
@Another Scott:
His jib, it’s proving well-cut this new pope. More of this, please.
As if the MAGA hatred weren’t enough already.
Tom Levenson
@zhena gogolia: It is…in her first minute or so in our house. She was six weeks old–she had to be homed more or less immediately (and earlier than recommended) because her mom had her in a car repair shop and the litter had just gotten to the age where they could get into all kinds of things small animals are best not near.
Tom Levenson
@scav: That’s actually a picture of Champ the day we got her. I’ll have pix of the new one up when he gets here.
danielx
Sorry for Tikka’s loss. Always got the feeling he was judging one and feeling less than satisfied,
SW
Ready or not it is the only thing that works. They demand your attention and that’s a good thing.
zhena gogolia
@Tom Levenson: I remember the picture!
No One of Consequence
Rotating tag line nom. (And I’m not even a cat person.) Bon chance to you and your newest feline overlord/lady.
-NOoC
prostratedragon
@Bex: 🙂! Or else Leona.
scav
@Tom Levenson: Oh well, I hope at least it’s a good description of Champ! Still, if so, Blessed Increase will have to pull up their little socks and make the grade. Go team!
CaseyL
Discovering the new kitty – their purpose, their personality, their way of interacting with the world – will be joyful, fascinating and, with memories of Tikka always in the background, ever so poignant.
I hope Champ likes the newcomer; I hope the newcomer likes Champ.
Best wishes for the newest Family Blend :)
WaterGirl
@Another Scott:
FINALLY! Thank you Pope Leo.
Sister Golden Bear
When the cat is ready, the servants will appear.
Gin & Tonic
@Another Scott: Big improvement over Frank.
WaterGirl
New rotating tag in honor of Tikka, Tom, and the new kitty.
WaterGirl
Is the little one a boy or a girl?
Jackie
@Bex:
My son’s birthday is early Aug., so his Zodiac sign is Leo. He got a kitten for his 10th birthday, and of course named him Leo :-)
DEBG
Congrats on a new feline overlord. That kitten photo of Champ made me squee very loudly.
Odie Hugh Manatee
The Cat Distribution System is very effective at having kittens and cats show up when they detect that you have a vacancy. I had one show up last summer and she morphed into three when she had two kittens via emergency C-section. We didn’t plan for six cats but here we are. After hand feeding preemies for a couple of weeks there is no way we can give the kittens away now. So mom and kits join our three guys in our household mayhem.
I’ve become that guy with too many cats and I like it. You have a really cute cat starter kit there! Congratulations to you and your family and here’s to hoping that Champ is chill with the addition to the household.
H.E.Wolf
Best wishes to all in the household – newcomers, current residents, and past presiders-over. Looking forward to photos of the new kitteh.
satby
@Rose Judson: and @Tom ^ More cats are ❤️
I didn’t mention it in your beautiful memorial to Tikka, but I lost one of my 3 tuxies, Buddy, earlier than expected from his disease two weeks ago. That same night, the other male, Sammy, escaped in a fluke. I was desolate. And even with 7* other cats, the house was strangely quiet, because those were my two most social and rambunctious boys. Fortunately, last week I recaptured Sammy, who is happy to be inside again. No new arrivals slated, since I still have a full house, but the others were obviously missing both boys and are happy Sammy’s home.
* Remember, I’m in a rescue group. Officially 4 are fosters, though they’ll probably be here forever. Not really a crazy cat lady 🤪
HopefullyNotcassandra
Losing a beloved pet is never easy. Yet, I will wager no pet lover anywhere would opt for a pet-less do-over. May your new kitty bring joy to all of your family, including Champ.
eclare
Oh I missed the news about Tikka, I’m so sorry.
Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly between Champ and the new kitty. As you wisely put it, sometimes the universe lets you know that your new kitty is here.
eclare
@satby:
I’m so sorry about Buddy and thankful that Sammy is home.
Dr Daniel Price (Saint Vincent)
One must allow the Cat Distribution System to do its work, and it seems that you have.
We said goodbye to Kabo at the end of March; he had been fading slowly, and then precipitously. We sent him off to rejoin his sister (Nizel) and all of the other cats who have blessed us with their presence in our homes.
Two cats remain with us. One clearly misses his “daddy cat”. Both have, at times, shown willingness to achieve a detente. At other times they growl at each other and slap-fight.
The CDS, in its wisdom, will favour us at some future date. Now is clearly not the time, and one does not test the CDS. The large dog’s favourite game is “put cats’ heads in her mouth”, which Cathulhu tolerates–and sometimes encourages, regrettably–and Topaxi endures. How that dog would act around kittens seems evident, hence no recent acts of the CDS at our abode.
CaseyL
I have very politely but firmly told the CDS to put me on Hold for about a year, just so I can travel a bunch, on impulse, whenever I want to.
I had kitties for 35+ years, loved every moment of it, and grieve still for them all, but feel I have earned a little break.
Kayla Rudbek
@WaterGirl: The cat cafe in Alexandria VA is called Mount Purrnon https://www.mtpurrnoncatcafe.com/
Pauline
Congratulations! I’m really looking forward to seeing pictures of the new kitty.
Glad that the Cat Distribution System is blessing your home in such a timely manner.
columbusqueen
I love the magic power of the CDS!
BellyCat
After 53 years of cat ownership, I finally realized that the best remedy for losing a furry companion that owns you, is to immediately get another one. So happy for you! This whole “wait until I’m ready“ thing rarely serves one well.
eclare
@Kayla Rudbek:
That is so cute, and the menu looks really good!
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Sure Lurkalot: I read that book about Garfield too. He seemed like a good one – probably would have been the best President between Grant and Teddy Roosevelt.
Condolences on your loss, and congratulations on your new cats Tom.
I’m currently reading Richard Fortey’s Earth: An Intimate History. Very good layman friendly overview of geology. My next science read will probably be Ronald Clark’s biography of Einstein. Is that a good one? I found it in a little free library along with A Wrinkle in Time and a book about Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill by Jon Meacham. That was one jackpot of a little free library.
sab
@BellyCat: We were too old when we took our last rescues. I took my uncle’s cocker when Uncle died, and the poor little guy would have been better off euthanized. He missed his old home so much.
Cats not so much. Echo and Solly happily settled in. We have five others.
We have lined up people to take them, because their life expectancy is way beyond ours. Not all of them, but at least the youngsters.
satby
@eclare: Thanks. He was a very sweet boy, like your William, also gone too soon. But we gave them the home they deeply wanted for the time we had with them, and that’s heaven to them.
NutmegAgain
OMG that face! Those eyes!! You’ll not be able to deny that kitty anything (or I wouldn’t, anyway.)
sab
@eclare: You lost cats this year, didn’t you?
I was lucky with the ones I got. Five other cats and a pitbull were overwhelming for them, but they have come around and seem to be settled in. The little lady is a sweetheart and my darling, and the large lad seems to want tax prep in his future. Otherwise he is always happy to supervise humans doing chores.
NutmegAgain
I’ll just pitch in and suggest that if you find your home empty of four-legs (or hell, even 3 legs), fostering is a great experience. About a million years ago I fostered a litter of kittens that came in to a shelter where I volunteered. I think I may possibly have kept several ::cough::. But in recent years I’ve been fostering doggos who come into rescue with issues like medical or even, lord save me, behavioral issues. (120 lbs of misbehaving dog is a bunch of challenge.) But seeing them go on to loving and well-matched homes is about the best feeling.
Another Scott
@Another Scott: Update – The interview was in 2022, which is even better.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Kayla Rudbek
@eclare: apparently it’s reservation only, so I haven’t been there yet. Maybe I should make a reservation and go play with the kitties even though I can’t bring one home.
WaterGirl
@Kayla Rudbek: So charming!!!!
Another Scott
Meanwhile, … TheRegister:
🤪
Best wishes,
Scott.
Tom Levenson
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
Ronald Clark’s biography is ok, but it was written before most of the Einstein papers were available to scholars and it’s a bit hero’s journey-ish for my taste.
The best (as in the most thorough) lay biography is Albrecht Folsing’s Albert Einstein. It’s competently written and translated though the prose isn’t going to make you kvell, and Albrecht did all the work. The best scientific biography, with a good deal of math involved, is still Abraham Pais’s Subtle is the Lord. Pais was a friend of Einstein, and it shows in a good way in the biographical elements of the book. You can read that one and skip most of the math; it’s got a lot of interesting material. Finally, my own Einstein in Berlin is not a true biography, but people have told me they got a lot out of it, and the physics explanations in it, I’m told (by the then head of the MIT physics department, for one) are clear, not-wrong, and lay-friendly. ;-)
Kayla Rudbek
@Kayla Rudbek: correction, they will take walk-ins if they have room, reservations highly recommended
MagdaInBlack
@Kayla Rudbek: Chicago has this:
https://www.thecatcade.org/
anitamargarita
Happy tears for all of you! I hope Champ gets some consolation from the new arrival. My sister recently lost a dear car friend who had been our dad’s cat. Within 2 days an acquaintance asked if she knew anyone wanting a cat. . .
MagdaInBlack
I think a lot about getting a second cat or kitten, but I am away from home 11 hours a day 5 days a week and that situation is no way to introduce and acclimate a new pet.
So I live vicariously thru you guys here =-)
Albatrossity
Good to hear that you will soon have a new kitten to provide for your needs and distract your heart. My daughter believes that everyone should have two cats, and has convinced many of her single-felined friends to get the second one. Of course, she now has three cats, one aged (he kept her company during undergrad, grad school, two post-docs and in her current job in Montana), one middle-aged, and one youngster, rescued from an abandoned barn/cattery in the high prairies of eastern Montana. They get along famously, and I suspect your new arrival will also soon be comfortable and comforting.
Phishwu
My younger one, my baby girl, started sleeping by me for the first time in over a year the week before Sam passed. She knew what was coming. She stayed upstairs and slept by me for weeks after. She and Sam were never cuddly, but she grieved as hard as we did. She still isn’t crazy about Finn, he has too much energy for her, but she is starting to tolerate him.