Back in March we lost our beloved Chubbo. He had been part of Rolf’s family for somewhere around 18 years, and was a great cat. Always a mouser, he even caught a mole in our yard just a week or so before he passed. How he managed to do it, despite his low energy levels, I’ll never know.
Although a new pet, can never really replace an old beloved four legged family member. We started looking for a new cat a few months after Chubbo walked over that rainbow bridge. Few cats we found online didn’g really seem to fit what we were looking for, and getting a cat in the middle of a global pandemic just added to the difficulty. Not being allowed to actually visit a cat in person before adopting was daunting, and we spent months cruising the web and crossing our fingers.
Finally we decided to just do it. Pick a cat, bring him/her home, and hope for the best. That’s when we found Butterscotch. A 4 year old male who’s owner had passed away and family was unable to keep pets. He was a big chonky kitty, old enough to hopefully need minimal play time, and best of all, he was free. We went for it. Picked him up at the end of November, and just like that, our home expanded by four furry little feet.
The shelter where we adopted him, said he was a very shy, but that he warmed up to the staff after a few weeks. He was particularly fond of this cat bed, so they let us take it with us. He was rightfully freaked out about his new surroundings and spent the first few hours hiding in his bed before deciding if he wanted to venture out into the house.
After a little while, he became a little more brave and after a super quick glance around our first floor, he booked it to the basement. For the next several weeks he would hide down there. His favorite hiding spots were high up in the ceiling, on top of shelving, or most frequently on top of our ductwork. He would let us pet and scratch him, just so long as we let him stay in his safe little hiding spot.
Eventually Rolf managed to get Butterscotch to leave the safety of the basement ceiling areas for brief stints on the basement sofa. Skittish and nervous of any sound or movement, he was starting to trust us. More and more he would sit and let us pet him on the sofa. Before long, he would just hang out on the sofa most days, and wouldn’t run off when we came downstairs.
About a month after bringing him home, Butterscotch is now freely exploring and roaming the whole house. He spends most of his time in the living room on his new favorite chair, or in the dining room when Tommy has school. Occasionally snuggly and oh so super chonky, Butterscotch has made a great addition to the household. Our resident cranky cat, Mikey isn’t too crazy about having another cat in the house. But Mikey is somewhat tolerant of Butterscotch, and regards him much as he did with Chubbo. He gives Butterscotch plenty of death stares, but overall as long as he gets to remain ‘head cat’, Mikey is too old to give Butterscotch much grief.