Disco phoned Home...

The Alien has come back home. And while I was truly hoping his new companion and he would soon be fast friends...it wasn't meant to be.

And, I am a bit surprised at how glad I am to have him back with me...since Mike died, I have been trying to get back to a managable number of cats for one person to love and care for and letting each one go reminds me that Mike is no longer here, sharing my life and loving the cats with me.

I let Billy Idol (my other Sphynx) fly off to California with a good friend and I smiled as I waved goodbye, but still knew I would miss his silly ways in my life. I also was able to find a wonderful home for 2 kitties I got back from their homes because they were peeing outside the box in their previous homes and that was not sad but happy for me and them that they got through their emotional issues and could be happy again.

But Disco, who also had been having the same behavior issues, with help from me and anxiety meds, had made it through "rehab" and was being good, but I thought he would be happy being #1 kitty in someone's life and this person was going to be someone I knew and work with, so it would be even better as I would get daily news of how he was doing and what he was up to...

Well, both he and Tabitha exhibited such obvious anxiety at being housemates that he only lasted 2 1/2 days before he was delivered back to me...after pooping on the bed numerous times, yowling for 6 hours straight at one point and causing his new owner such distress that I welcomed him back with open arms, of course. Now, I am familiar with the Cornish Rex and Sphynx personality and other than the out of litterbox experiences...I can say most of what Disco was doing was pretty normal and would more than likely have subsided in a few weeks.

I am sure she thought I would be angry, but not at all! We both learned something from this experience and this is one reason I am always most comfortable "rehoming" a kitty locally, so it can easily be returned to me with the least stress possible. Kittens are resilient and maleable and adjust to new homes easily...adult cats have a much harder time and especially to someone not familiar with the breed...adjustments can be difficult and overwhelming at times.

This is the quickest instance of having a cat returned to me, but Tabitha was the first to say "It could be me, not him" and I knew I had to intervene. I had one young woman return a kitty to me after two weeks as she said she never settled in, kept meowing, dug at the door if she confined her and seemed to miss her littermates too much. Funny, but she came back to me and went off to live with a woman who has a boy cat from me and she settled in just fine and in fact, is so quiet and serene next to her very active boycat, that she often has to go looking for Lola just to say hello!

Another time, I had a kitten returned to me after a month or so, because she was constantly trying to "nurse" on her new owners exposed skin. She did that in the new home I found for her for quite some time, but eventually outgrew the behavior except for when she is very sleepy and contented. Each person has their limit to what they can give and take in a relationship, whether it be with a human or a pet...

But...these past few days and thinking about whether I will still be breeding Cornish Rex a year from now, but knowing I will always have at least one in my life...where ever it leads me. I think, who would I keep and who would I seek homes for, and this recent experience has helped me decide that no matter what, Disco has found his place here...with me and I think that he and Coco and me would make a nice little family unit...don't you think?

It's obvious, from the photo, that Disco is happy here and loves to snuggle with Spot (who is 15 years old and has IBD, Spondylosis and was diagnosed this week with a heart problem and was part of the package when I married Mike and I couldn't do less than care for him like he is a that part of Mike still with me).

...Funny, how things can change so, in just a week!