Jess and Justin are away on vacation this week, so I’ve been looking after their cat, Nugget. I drove Jess to the airport last Saturday, and on the way she mentioned that Nugget had been acting oddly. Normally Nugget cleans her bowl and asks for more, but lately she hadn’t been eating much and was going in and out of the litter box repeatedly. As Jess got out of the car at the airport, she was still telling me where the cat carrier was in the garage, just in case.
This was a bit more responsibility than I had signed up for, but I didn’t really have a choice. On Sunday I went to check on Nugget, and she greeted me at the door with a string of plaintive meows. I asked her how she was doing, and she assured me she was “just fine; please scratch my ears and hand over some treats.”
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| The Interloper's Pen |
Jess recently brought home a kitten from her veterinary office, and Nugget was not amused. She refused to come downstairs where the kitten was and had been avoiding Jess and Justin altogether. Normally I only visit Nugget every other day when I'm cat-sitting, but since Justin's house is 45 minutes away, I wasn’t keen on making a daily 90-minute round trip to deal with the kitten, too. Thankfully, Jess arranged for a friend to watch the kitten this week, giving Nugget a much-needed break.
I spent some time with her, scratching her ears, brushing her fur, giving her treats, and telling her repeatedly that she is, without question, the best kitty. By the time I left, she was happily curled up on her favorite pillow in the front window, purring and clearly enjoying life without the competition.
Jess will be picking up the kitten once she’s back next Tuesday. Until then, I’ll keep visiting Nugget, scratching her ears, and reminding her - this week and every week after - that she truly is the best kitty.
I concur. Pets often do not like competing for affection and become very jealous, disgruntled and moody. You seem to have kitty intuition, Bonny! Here's hoping that is all that is bothering Nugget.
ReplyDeleteAw, poor Nugget! I'm glad you've taken on the duties of restoring her self-esteem and giving her treats. I have no experience with cats, but knowing how jealous Ruthie gets if I even try to pet another dog when we're out on a walk, I can imagine having a kitten in the house would be upsetting.
ReplyDeleteOh poor Nugget! What a very good grandmother you are... showering sweet Nugget with love and attention (and extra treats!!)
ReplyDeleteand you are the best kitty grandma!
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you! I'm going down to see Nugget again today for some more self-esteem boosting for her.
DeleteIs the interloper a permanent addition, or just a temporary guest? Introducing new cats is... challenging! I remember years ago, a friend of Maddy's had some kittens to spare & we took one. About a week later, we decided to take another... and you'd never have guessed that those two kittens were littermates!! Thankfully, they got over themselves pretty quickly & we had many long happy years with them -- Scamp & Roxie. <3 <3
ReplyDeleteAh, yes. An interloper. My neighbor is going through that with her kitty. She got a puppy recently and her cat is not having it. She won't come out from under the bed or eat. My neighbor is worried sick about her dear kitty but is also in love with the puppy who is replacing her recently dearly departed doggo.
ReplyDeleteAll I can do in Nugget's interloper situation is keep telling her that she is the best kitty. I'm sending your neighbor all of the getting-along vibes in hopes that her poor cat will come out from under the bed and eat, sooner rather than later.
DeleteNugget is very lucky to have you loving on her. And I think the interloper could definitely be the cause of the issues, cats don't take to other cats readily, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteAwww...sweet Nugget. She is lucky to have you as her grandma! Have fun boosting her self esteem!
ReplyDelete