How is our remaining cat Stormy after Midnight passed away? She’s doing OK, but she’s changed somewhat. She used to be much quieter and out of the way most of the time, but now she seems to have taken on some of Midnight’s attributes.
Specifically, she’s very loud when she wants food or even when she’s been fed. Midnight used to start on his food, then go over to hers, and I had to intervene. She doesn’t have to fight for her meals and tends to graze most of the day.
Her diet is also changing; she is, after all, 11, and so she’s an older cat. She used to eat dry foods plus moist foods (shreds), but now she’s also eating the pate she and Midnight both eschewed when they were kittens. I alternate between shares and pate.
Also, she’s often in the way in the doorway in the entryways; this is something Midnight used to do all the time. Now that he’s not here, she seems obliged to take on this role. The good thing is that she tends to move out of the way when I walk towards her, unlike Midnight, who would remain underfoot.
Becoming my cat, too?
Another interesting thing is that she would never come to where I sat on the sofa. She would sit on my wife’s lap or next to my daughter. But she would never do this with me because she perceived me as Midnight’s person. Now, if I scratch the sofa cushion, she’ll jump up and sit beside me. “That’s different,” my daughter correctly observed.
My daughter believes that Stormy realizes I’m mourning and wants to hang out to make me feel better. I think she was wary of Midnight being around that he might supplant her on the sofa, and she didn’t want to deal with the possible conflict. These both could be true.
Even before, she would often come up to me and rub her head against my leg or on my foot, although she does the same to chairs, the corner of the kitchen counter, and other surfaces.
I’m glad she’s still here. By the way, the banana picture was taken by my daughter about a year and a half ago. The reason it’s here now is that, though I was unaware of that photo, I put a banana on Stormy’s head, and she looked just as silly as she did here. She doesn’t seem to mind it terribly. What does that say about her, that she’s bananas?