Within the span of a few months my two black beauties had to deal with 2 major changes. #1 was losing Hershey in December, and #2 was my actually leaving the house for most of the day 5 days a week when I went back to working in the office in March. I’ve had quite a few people ask me how the cats are adjusting to these changes so I thought I would give everyone an update.
The short answer is- they are fine. Neither of them have seem to have any long term negative damage as a result of either significant change.
They did both look around the house for Hershey for a while. I did notice this more with Boots than Pumpkin, but it was clear they both noticed he was gone and were a bit puzzled. They say animals know when they or another animal is sick. I did not see any obvious changes in how either of them interacted with Hershey in his last few days, but it’s certainly possible things happened that I did not see given Hershey’s lack of love for me. The one big thing I HAVE noticed is at the litter pan. For whatever reason, Hershey never buried his turds. He left them out like prize jewels and it drove me nuts. Shortly after Hershey left us, Pumpkin has picked up this annoying habit. And it’s no cuter when she does it, but it’s been going on for long enough now that I suspect this is just of our new normal. YAY.
The first week I was back in the office it was VERY obvious that the cats noticed. I could barely get in the door without one or both of them underfoot. If I sat down for a second Boots would be on my lap. They have both seemed to have adjusted more or less to this change as well, but there are still days that they seem more affectionate than I remember them being in 2019. There are even times they both sit on my lap at the same time!
So, yes, my babies are doing well. And I so much appreciate everyone asking about them!