When your kids are young and you give them a pet, you never really contemplate what'll happen when they grow up, leave for school or their own life, and leave the pet behind. Dogs usually have a shorter life span, so maybe there isn't as great a chance that they will survive long enough to experience the exodus. But cats are entirely different. They live long, long lives.
Enter Rudy. My oldest daughter Laura's 18-lb orange tabby.
This cat is 10 years old, quite overweight, and with a very large personality that matches his girth.
He lived his early years curled up and spilling out of a box on her desk as she did her homework. He scratched and bit to make sure everyone knew his lion-like ambitions and that he was on top. He was definitely Laura's cat. Then Laura left for college.
So Rudy moved on to become my son Patrick's cat. He lived on his bed or on backpacks or stacks of papers - any least comfortable spot, Rudy would curl. He still randomly bit - only to find out that Patrick would not quite tolerate it the same way Laura did, so Rudy would find himself drop-kicked across the room. But Rudy would relentlessly come right back - needy as he was for attention, on his own terms, of course. Then Patrick left for college.
So Rudy moved on to become my youngest daughter Gina's cat. He moved in to her room, slept on her bed and other very uncomfortable places. He stopped the biting, as he probably figured that he had established his place in the household (and maybe Patrick's training helped a bit as well). Then Gina left for an extended summer vacation.
Suddenly the children's quarters were empty.
So Rudy bit the bullet and moved on to become my cat. He chose to move upstairs - once-foreign territory has now become hallowed ground. He follows me everywhere. Sleeps by my side. Curls up in my computer case - of course the most uncomfortable spot he can find. Lies down in front of the keyboard as I am trying to work. Waits outside the tub as I take a shower. And lies on the bathroom counter as I get dressed.
I now realize that I have become the keeper of my children's cat. I tolerate his grooming in the middle of the night, his paw seeking out my hand to give him pets, his walking on my keyboard as I type, his yowls screaming for attention.
Rudy is teaching me some great life lessons: the need for humility to know that it's okay to be at the bottom of the totem pole - I guess I'm better than nothing; and the need for adaptability for what life throws at you - if something changes, make do and find happiness regardless.
It's also comforting to know that as soon as the kids are in the house, he's back downstairs, waking them up in the middle of the night.
--C.L.C.
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