Last month, we euthanized one of our cats. Gumbo (pictured above, on right) was a medical mystery: when we adopted him as an adult in 2015, he had a chronic respiratory infection, and soon thereafter he was diagnosed with a severe congenital heart defect that should have killed him as a kitten. Given Gumbo’s diagnosis, we knew he wouldn’t be with us long, so we took care to give him every comfort. When the end came, he died in my lap, which was his favorite place to be.
These past few weeks, we’ve been looking for a cat to take Gumbo’s place. Gumbo had lived in our master bedroom with toothless Nina (pictured above, on left) and one-eyed Frankie; the two of them were quiet and calm enough to keep Gumbo company without putting stress on his heart. In looking for a new cat, we wanted one who would be affectionate enough to cuddle with Nina, the gentlest cat on the planet, and savvy enough to give standoffish Frankie her space.
Yesterday we brought home Yanny (pictured on right), a sweet shelter cat who was hard-to-place because of age and medical issues: glaucoma that claimed one eye, an uncertain prognosis for the other, and an unresolved urinary issue. Now that Gumbo’s gone, we have another medical mystery in the house. Already, Yanny is quietly coexisting with both Nina and Frankie: nobody is cuddling yet, but nobody’s fighting, either. When you adopt a medical mystery, you commit to provide whatever that creature needs for however long they decide to stay with you: a quality of life measured in depth rather than length.
Hoarded Ordinaries 
May 28, 2018 at 9:58 pm
You are very kind and caring to adopt a cat with some health issues. I wish you the best of luck and love with your new pet.
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May 28, 2018 at 10:15 pm
You sure the new cat isn’t named “Laurel”? Heh.
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May 29, 2018 at 7:47 am
We know it’s Yanny because we renamed him: his shelter name was Martin, after bug-eyed Mr. DeMartino from the cartoon Daria. (When Yanny was brought in as a stray, the eye that was subsequently removed was bulging due to glaucoma.)
It doesn’t matter, though. If you say Laurel, Yanny hears Yanny. 🙂
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May 29, 2018 at 11:19 am
That’s sad about Gumbo, but you gave him a good life for the time he had. It’s brave to adopt these “medical mysteries” — I admire you!
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May 29, 2018 at 9:51 pm
i live in the country and feed a ‘ family ’ of feral cats to keep the rats and mice down and the snakes away, they have had it so good for so many generations that they have become inbred, their fathers can be their half brothers etc, they are hyper-social, very human friendly and have physical defects like easily infected right paws going game or opaque corneas, their colouring is very similar and enables one to guess their lineages . . .
i don’t let them in the house and they can harass for food to the level of being a nuisance . . .
i think i preferred the first generations where they were different, the ones around now have temperaments that are too similar
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