Yes. We have one old (about 16 years old) cat, Scout, and I don't feel it's fair to her to bring a new cat into the house while she's with us. I hope we don't get a cat for a long while.
Bringing in a new cat, not kitten of course, would take trial and error to get the right one, unless she was always a real loner then nothing would work, although she was used to being around the dog so she is a colony animal. If you found one she liked it would be good for her.
Cats are much easier to take care of, but it sounds like you're at the point where you may need a break from the commitment.
yoyo52 Nothing comes of nothing.
Registered: 05/25/01
Posts: 30520
Loc: PA, USA
Scout has always gotten along with other critters--the dogs, our other cats, neighborhood cats. But she likes her routine, and specially she likes the attention we give her now that she's the only kid.
And MrB--I disagree completely with the idea that cats don't affiliate with specific people. I've had a lot of cats over my life, and it's just not true that a human is just part of the cat's landscape.
_________________________ MACTECHubi dolor ibi digitus
Scout has always gotten along with other critters--the dogs, our other cats, neighborhood cats. But she likes her routine, and specially she likes the attention we give her now that she's the only kid.
I can get that. They tolerate a lot, but if she likes being the Queen make these last years the most comfortable for her.
And MrB--I disagree completely with the idea that cats don't affiliate with specific people. I've had a lot of cats over my life, and it's just not true that a human is just part of the cat's landscape.
I've had many many cats over the years and not ONE of them has been "JUST" A Cat...
I don't get that...? I see it all the time...! People OWN cats that are "JUST" Cats... like Furry Furniture... they eat they crap... I don't get that? ...what's the bloody point...?
The only thing I can think of is that you get out of them exactly what you put into them If you see them & treat them "like furry furniture" you get what you deserve... >nothing<
like most people LOVE Kittens but then become indifferent to them once they grow up Maybe I got it backward... ...but to me... THE BEST PART ABOUT A KITTEN IS THAT THEY BECOME CATS!
I'm not a kooky 'Cat Lady' who plays 'dress-up' with cats, nor do I coo to them as if they were babies
...and I've Yet to "OWN" One... (nor do they "OWN" Me!)
At best I co-habitate with them (only I get to pay the rent) and I respect them as beings...as equals...and as friends.
I happen to enjoy their independent nature, that they come and go as they please, rather than having them "underfoot" the way I view most dogs..awaiting your every command (ush!)
Just BeWare; The danger lies in that THEY DO BECOME YOUR FRIEND and as such leave a huge hole in your soul when they pass.
The only way of expressing that is it's as if "...you just lost your best friend..."
but IMHO people who denigrate a cat by dressing them in a TuTu (furcrysake ) are begging to be run over by a Humvee (and backed over...at least once...! )
Dogs are different story... They've got nothing to lose... ...they ain't got much dignity anyway.
...and I'm not talking about the cute bow in the "hair" that's actually pretty cute! Or occasional Halloween costume FUNNY! ...or the obligatory reindeer antlers
Who hasn't leaned over and put their sun glasses on their pet ..just for a 'goof'?
I'm talking about getting off on "playing dress-up" to the extent of a full wardrobe!
yoyo52 Nothing comes of nothing.
Registered: 05/25/01
Posts: 30520
Loc: PA, USA
Dogs have their own dignity. The animals are very different in how they relate to their owners, and to the world. But neither is lesser than the other.
Once upon a time I used to think that P. G. Wodehouse's Gussie Fink-Nottle was an idiot because he loved newts. Then we got a newt, and I discovered that newts are really neat little critters. I still think that Gussie Fink-Nottle is an idiot, but not because he's got a thing for newts.
Here's our newt, Harry.
_________________________ MACTECHubi dolor ibi digitus
To tell the God's Honest.. I never fully appreciated dogs until I found myself literally in tears watching the Dogs that had been brought in as Search & Rescue...then Recover Dogs at the WTC.
Walking & Digging through MOUNTAINS of Broken Glass and Twisted Steel & Aluminum for nearly a month.
There's just NO WAY - NO HOW any Cat would do that.
(NEW RULES: I'm told I need to include a synopsis with my links) ((No problem... as long as we're ALL held to Same Standard ))
When we think about plants, we don’t often associate a term like “behavior” with them, but experimental plant ecologist JC Cahill wants to change that. The University of Alberta professor maintains that plants do behave and lead anything but solitary and sedentary lives. What Plants Talk About teaches us all that plants are smarter and much more interactive than we thought!