Mischief

by Linda
(New Jersey)

When my kids were little, they expressed that they wanted a dog. We didn't have pets because my husband was allergic. I also suspected that the kids had a romantic idea about what having a dog was like and I didn't want to adopt one and end up being the only caretaker of it. I was also concerned about my husband's respiratory health.

So we decided to foster dogs. That way the kids could get an idea of what it was like to have a dog, my husband can see how allergic he actually was, and it would be temporary. It the kids didn't like the dog, it would find a new home. If my husband was allergic, the dog would be gone in a short time.

We fostered some dogs. Sure enough, the kids weren't interested in walking the dogs, or feeding them, and they got tired of playing with them quickly. I enjoyed the dogs, but was glad to see them all find good homes. My husband didn't have a bad reaction to them.

We also fostered some cats. The first cat we fostered was Mischief. My husband didn't seem allergic to him. We didn't have a mouse problem when he was here. While other cats that we fostered found a forever home, he never did. After a few years of living with us, someone expressed interest in him. I was crushed. I told the rescue that I'd like to just keep him and they said yes. I think cats are my favorite pets

When we got him, he was in a private apartment with lots of other cats. I'm not sure if this was a cat rescue home or a cat hoarder situation. I took him home.

At first, he was very skittish. He made a beeline to the linen closet and hung out there for several days. Gradually he got used to us and would hang out with us on the couch. Before I knew better, I trained him to use the human toilet. We had another cat at the time who was not able to be trained and the other cat started peeing and pooping on the floor, so we stopped this training.

Mischief was a very calm cat who had a quiet presence in our house. He didn't really play with toys. Besides not knowing that you shouldn't have car poop in the toilet, I didn't know that you are not supposed to let cats outside. So he was an indoor/outdoor cat. I think he loved exploring the neighborhood, climbing trees, and basking in the sun.

He lived until a nice old age. The vet discovered some kidney problems, so he had a special diet for the last few years of his life. He liked that food just fine. One day he started meowing funny, his eyes were black, and he started turning around in circles. This is apparently a sign of neurological problems. The vet thought he was either having a stroke or he had rabies. He didn't have rabies so...

He kept getting weaker and weaker, He had a few more episodes of the circling. There was nothing we could do but make him as comfortable as we could.

One day he just disappeared. I can't imagine that he had the strength to get to the door of the house, much less go outside and find a place to have his final rest. But that's what must have happened. We searched around, but there were definitely places that he could have gone to where humans couldn't get to. I've heard that cats want to be alone to die and when they are in pain.

I'm very sad that I couldn't be with him to comfort him at the end. He was a great cat. My first cat as an adult. I know I gave him a good life and he was well loved. It's been years and I've had several other cats, but I still miss Mischief.