A fan of the Klepto Cat and Calico Cat Mysteries brought up a good point last week. She lost a precious cat and she’s concerned about adopting another one at her age. She thought maybe she’d adopt a needy senior cat, which could be a good solution—good for the cat and for the senior citizen. Regardless of whether you are young or older and adopt a senior cat or a kitten, I recommend also choose a godparent for your kitties. We should all have a godparent or a team of godparents for our cats.
I became a godparent to four treasured cats once. I laughed
when my friend and neighbor, Johanna, asked me to take on this position—just in case something were to happen to her. I laughed because she was younger than I was and in great health, but I agreed.
Johanna set up a bank account for the cats in my name—in case I couldn’t find homes for them and
needed to turn them over to a shelter. This would provide a generous donation to the organization. Or it could be used for veterinary care should one of the cats need it.
Well, it wasn’t long after I agreed to
become a cat-godparent that Johanna, at 56, had a stroke and passed away.
I took care of the cats at her home while contacting everyone who knew Johanna, following leads, and so forth to find the best homes for her beautiful cats.
As it turned out, a coworker at the hospital where she worked adopted Lilly. Her brother took home Charlie. A friend of mine embraced Goldie. And her fiancé cared for Nikki for the rest of her life.
Certainly our age should be a consideration when thinking about adopting another cat. But no matter what age your cat is or what age you are, it’s always good insurance for the innocent cat if you’d also find a relative or a friend who will take on the responsibility as god parent in case you are no longer able to care for the cat.
Wow! Seeing my own words in your newest post was quite the experience. Knowing you actually read your fans thoughts plus give serious consideration to answering, demonstrates exactly why we all love being fans. I never even thought about designating someone with the responsibility of caring for my cat(s) if needed before. When my Mom had to move to a nursing home, Patches had to stay behind at 10+ years. I would have happily taken her home, but she was very much a one-person cat and had been with Mom almost all her adult life. Mom had been a widow living alone the whole time, so Patches literally struck out at anyone else who tried to get close, even before Mom left. I have a tiny one story house with nowhere to sequester an unhappy new cat, so left Patches at Mom’s house while we readied it for sale. After the auction I had to get her out before the new owners moved in. Unfortunately my three brothers were not willing to even try to take her (none had other pets & had bigger homes!), so I made the heartbreaking decision to take her to the Vet to cross the Rainbow Bridge. My Mom never blamed me, but it was so hard to add more sorrow to the loss of her home of 53 years. I really wish I could have found a better solution to let Patches finish her life in Peace, but living in fear and misery shut in our old basement alone (my only other option), felt like a punishment instead of a reward.
I will have to seriously consider who should have the care of any cat I may still have if anything happens to me. My son lives with us and does like our cat(s), but I need to make sure he would be willing to do whatever needed to be done, good or hard. Sorry this was so long, but I have come to appreciate the experience and wisdom you share through your writing, both online and in your books. I imagine you have dealt with many different scenarios with the multiple cats you have loved over the years. I hope you enjoy many more years of life, love, feline companions, and continuing to keep your fans enthralled.
Thanks again for writing.
Nettie
I sincerely appreciate your comments, Nettie And I’m glad that reading about my godparenting experience was helpful to you and, hopefully, others. We were blessed that our mom’s cat was such a good boy and pretty mellow. He’s Smokey, you know, one of the cats that inspired the Rags character in the Klepto Cat Mysteries. One of my nieces took Smokey to live with here and her husband and Kitty Boo-Boo, their cat. They are getting along marvelously, which warms our hearts, as you can imagine.
Let me know if you find a godparent. I was terrified at the responsibility when I found myself in that position, but was blessed and thankful when it worked out so smoothly and just purrfectly for each of Johanna’s cats.
Patricia