“Are you going to get another cat?”
It was inevitable, I suppose. That someone would ask. I didn’t think it would bother me as much as it did, and it took me a while to figure out why.
Of course we’ll adopt another cat one day. That’s inevitable. I am a cat person. I like dogs. I’d like to get a dog some day. But at my core, I’m a cat person.
I’ve had cats almost my entire life. There will never (by choice) be a time in my life when I don’t have a feline companion. Or two. Or three. I’d even consider four.
After that, I think we’d have a really hard time. Feeding time alone would be maddening. Right now, Abbie Hoovers up her food like she’s never eaten before and never will again. Wingnut, on the other hand, prefers to eat slowly. Daintily. And if Abbie runs up to his food bowl and head butts him out of the way, he’ll just let her.
So when we feed the cats, either we feed them in two separate rooms (with a closed door) or I sit on the floor between Abbie and Wingnut and make sure she doesn’t race off to steal Wingnut’s food.
But going back to the topic of this post…
“Are you going to get another cat?”
The reason this bothers me is that it implies we’re going to replace Binky.
Note: I don’t believe the person who asked me this question would have ever knowingly implied that I wanted to replace Binky. In fact, I’m pretty sure that possible interpretation of the question never crossed their mind. I’m not at all mad at being asked, but I do want people to know how the question can come across.
Binky was my child in every way that counted. No, he wasn’t human. No, I didn’t give birth to him. But I don’t have human children. I loved Binky—still do—more than I could have ever imagined when we adopted him, and I’ve been fortunate enough to be the caretaker of many a cat.
We’ll never replace Binky. Binky was one of a kind. Not that there aren’t other amazing cats out there. Wingnut and Abbie are each amazing in their own ways. Different from Binky. Very. Different from one another. But still great cats.
We will adopt another cat when the time is right. I don’t know when that will be. I hope Binky will let us know somehow. That the right cat will make themselves known to us. A Facebook post at just the right time. Going to the pet store to find an adoption event and seeing an older, wiser soul who just speaks directly to us. I don’t know what it’ll take or how we’ll deal with it.
But we will never replace Binky.