Kitties Leave, Kitties Arrive

As you know, our Ginger is gone.

Our beautiful, special, white-whiskered boy who loved us so much.

You may remember the neighbours who moved in with their Mitzi.  They've just moved to the West Indies!  Nice for some, bit of a change of weather, hey?

Mitzi is happily ensconced, I believe, with her "grandmother" who always looked after her when they were away.  And is queen of the garden, so I understand.

We had some new neigbours move in upstairs recently.  They found a mouse in their flat.  And promptly acquired a cat.

Now, this cat can't go out into the garden at will - there is no direct access from upstairs.  So this kitty will need to be an indoor cat, unless they actually bring her downstairs, round the back, and let her have a little run around.

I don't think cat owners usually do that.  I mean, you don't take your cat for a walk, do you?

No, it looks like the garden belongs to .... hello.

You all remember that there was a second ginger cat, right?  The sister/friend/compatriot of Ginger.  A female (yes, I checked).

You know that she came by often, to hang out with her bro.  And us, too.

After our boy left this earthly plane, the other one, and let's just start as we mean to go on and call her Gingerella, started coming on by again.  An evening here and there maybe, for a scratch of the cheek more than for a bite.  Checking on in to say "hi".

But one evening, after about two weeks, I walked into the house after a long day's work.  Husband was working away, and so it was just me - I was taking off my jacket in the sitting room and I heard, "meow".

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

What I had been longing to hear every night when I got home, there it was.

Hello?

Gingerella had, for the first time ever, decided to come in the cat flap.

Since then, Gingerella has moved in.

We also have a new cat.  She has not left our side, much, since that moment she decided to make this house, her home too.

I could over-analyse too much and say does she miss him, and therefore stay with us?  Or did she always want to be with us, but couldn't because of him?  Because she sure as heck does love the socks off us.

Oh my goodness, she has a purr like a drill hammer. I have never, ever met a cat with such a purr.  She's gotten much more vocal, too - what started as a very polite "meow" is now "uh, hello, I have something to say".  I still haven't worked out what the meow's mean.  But we sure as heck love this girl.  And I feel bad that yet again, we have taken someone else's cat - well.  We didn't make her.  Or him.  I don't know.  This cat loves us top to bottom and we love her back.  And that's really what matters.