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I waited two days. I had gone down to the shelter with no expectations of adopting that day. It all depended on whether or not I was going to be picked. And I was. Annie was the 2.0 version of the cat (Gracie) that had just passed suddenly a couple days prior. Annie and my other cat, Bolo, are a very bonded pair. Just like Gracie and Bolo were.
It sounds corny to some but I believe Gracie somehow introduced me to Annie.
Thank you for the replies. Yes, I'm planning to go to a shelter or rescue group, as that's the route I took with the 16-year-old I just lost - and I ended up with such a loving companion for all these years.
Having to put her to sleep - I had the vet come to the house - was traumatic, and her last moments (last two days, really) were etched in my mind. Now, though, I'm better able to look at that as just one small time in her life (awful as it was) and think over her entire lifetime as a whole, which was long and happy. I'm taking that as a signal I'm ready to open my heart to another needy kitty, and have a win-win: me with a new furry friend, and a homeless kitty with a loving home.
I'm going to look at rescues this weekend. I'll report back when I have my new one.
Thanks again for the responses.
You are at that point where the time feels right.... when you know another cat will not replace the one that's passed on, but rather join her in your heart.
As others have said, there is no One Right Time - it's the time that's right for you.
When my elder kid lost a cat very suddenly to a cerebral hemorrhage, they went to the Humane Society a few days later just to sit in the kitty room for some fur therapy. One little fellow jumped into the empty lap, put his front legs around the neck and nuzzled the ear, and that's all it took - he came home that same day.
We lost an older cat to cancer about a year and a half ago, and we were somewhat debating about whether or not to adopt another one. But the surviving cat was so needy, so bereft, that we decided he needed more companionship than we could offer. So about two months after we said our farewells to the old fellow, we welcomed a pair of affectionate, playful littermates from a local rescue group.
Then there was my sibling, who lost a cat in the middle of grad school (PhD in O-chem). It took them about three years to reach a point in life where they could feel comfortable welcoming another cat into their life. That was right for them, even if it wouldn't be for someone else.
So tune into what's right for you - when that time comes, your new friend will steal into your life and into your heart.
Please don't dwell on those last few days. Having a vet come to the house (we did this too) was the kindest think you could do for your kitty. And really, adopting another kitty in need would be honoring the memory of your late kitty.
Thanks. Yes, it was extra to come out to the house (obviously), but she was so miserable - she went into a fast 2-day decline after being stable and comfortable despite her cancer - that I thought the least I could do was let her leave this Earth from the comfort of familiar surroundings.
And I'm also looking at my "quick" adoption of the next cat - I'm hoping to find one at the local rescue league this Saturday - as testament to my old cat: that she showed me that living with a furry companion is so wonderful that I simply couldn't wait to get a new one.
We waited about a year after Bizzie died. We had her euthanized at the vet's, a decision I regret to this day.
She had kidney disease, like our last redhead Carrie Chapman Catt aka OOdle, who died peacefully in her sleep. From what I've read of kidney disease in cats, it's one of the better ways to go, painless and they just fade away.
We'd had Bizzie at the vet's over the weekend and she just got worse. I wish we'd just brought her home so she could die in a non-clinical place. Home.
But it is what it is at this point.
We adopted two hard-to-adopts, River and Molly, who probably would've lived their lives out at the shelter because River was completely withdrawn and Molly had some sort of damage to her left eye and she'd been in a couple of shelters for a couple of years. Glad we adopted them, River had three different parasites and we got that treated. She's still very shy, but yesterday she spent an hour and a half with me getting some needed attention. Lately she's been running off after about 10 minutes of scratching/brushing.
Then Pretty Girl. She was not of the pack, obviously an outsider who lived in a tree stump as far as we could tell. But she started showing up at feeding time, she'd come charging over from her stump and loved to be petted and loved to eat!
She was very civilized and tame, she let us pick her up and had obviously had TLC in her previous life, and then apparently something happened.
It got freeeezing cold, she looked so cold and miserable and was obviously not as cold-adapted as the other strays, so we let her stay in our heated garage for a couple of weeks. And then we thought, why not, so we let her into the house. We never planned on three cats. We adore them all.
Then Inky came to us, we never planned on four cats. Stray rescue/spay and the vet suggested we keep her inside for a couple of weeks. She was the sweetest most affectionate kitty, she had a ready purr and was not stand-offish like the other Pack cats we'd kept in a cage in the garage post-surgery. After a couple of weeks, we looked at each other and said, why not? So Sweetness came inside. We adore all four.
Personally our philosophy is to give a home to a cat who will otherwise not have an easy path to adoption. Kittens adopt out easily, older cats not always so easy.
Good luck, whoever you adopt will appreciate a kind and loving home.
Thanks. I've always adopted older cats, for that very reason (figuring the cute kittens will get scooped up quickly) but I was told that at this time of year, they are so overrun with kittens that they end up euthanized also - and kitten season lasts until the fall.
P.S. And thanks for adopting the "hard-to-adopt" kitties. It's an extra mitzvah. (Hebrew = good deed.)
You are at that point where the time feels right.... when you know another cat will not replace the one that's passed on, but rather join her in your heart.
Go for it OP.
"Join her in your heart." What a lovely sentiment!
As others have said, there is no One Right Time - it's the time that's right for you.
When my elder kid lost a cat very suddenly to a cerebral hemorrhage, they went to the Humane Society a few days later just to sit in the kitty room for some fur therapy. One little fellow jumped into the empty lap, put his front legs around the neck and nuzzled the ear, and that's all it took - he came home that same day.
We lost an older cat to cancer about a year and a half ago, and we were somewhat debating about whether or not to adopt another one. But the surviving cat was so needy, so bereft, that we decided he needed more companionship than we could offer. So about two months after we said our farewells to the old fellow, we welcomed a pair of affectionate, playful littermates from a local rescue group.
Then there was my sibling, who lost a cat in the middle of grad school (PhD in O-chem). It took them about three years to reach a point in life where they could feel comfortable welcoming another cat into their life. That was right for them, even if it wouldn't be for someone else.
So tune into what's right for you - when that time comes, your new friend will steal into your life and into your heart.
Yup. When I adopted the now-passed 16 year old, I had just lost the previous one to kidney failure. I thought I could never love a new cat the way I loved the previous one, but I rationalized it by saying I was providing a good home - clean litter, fresh food and water, playing, etc. - and I liked her well enough. (So what if I didn't LOVE her? I was still saving her.) And.... lo and behold....a short time later, LOVE. I am sure it will happen with the new one to come.
When I had "The Fab Four," I didn't get another cat when the first two left me (Swatcha & Bear). But, when the third one (Sheena) did, my poor Brandy was all alone. I TRIED to wait but just couldn't. I think it was less than 2 weeks that we went to the Humane Society and brought Electra home. We didn't get another cat after we lost Brandy because we had Electra & Andy. When Andy left us we still had Electra & Elvira.
Like others said, it doesn't matter how long you wait. There is no right or wrong amount of time. Whatever feels right to you. I always think that adopting soon after losing a loved one serves two purposes. It helps heal that hole that is in your heart and it gives a loving home to a furbaby who needs one. It is a win-win situation. And you are NOT replacing the one you lost. They can NEVER be replaced. I think your furbaby would be pleased that you still have love to give another.
I am sorry for your loss.
Cat
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Annie was the 2.0 version of the cat (Gracie) that had just passed suddenly a couple days prior. Annie and my other cat, Bolo, are a very bonded pair. Just like Gracie and Bolo were. 
