Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Meet Zorro

Okay everybody, Mom says you all know everything else that's going on, you're sure to give your opinions on this too, and this time she really wants to hear them.

Meet Zorro.

He's probably a little over a year old, and was found abandoned in an apartment complex in town. He's been neutered. He's bigger than me, Mom thinks he's close to 10 pounds. He's friendly as all get out; a regular purring machine. He likes people and loves laps.


Would he like me? Would I like him? We all know Jasmine wouldn't like him, but we figure she can hold her own. Would bringing him into our family completely stress Gizzy out? The volunteer at the animal shelter thinks he'd be Alpha Cat quick as a wink.

Mom's Mom thinks Zorro would be good for me. We'd play together and leave Jasmine alone. When Mom read about Zorro in the internet, he was listed as a "medium" size. Well, she figured a big cat was about 15 pounds, like Gizzy used to be. So she thought he'd be my size. You know, tiny, svelte and 8 pounds. Well, at the shelter were all kinds of lovely looking big cats that had to be 20 pounds. So Zorro is medium sized. He's just bigger than she thought he'd be. And older. Mom envisions the two of us tearing the house apart. When she got me, she didn't think she'd have three cats, now we might have four...

Mom's approved to adopt Zorro. But she's very confused. Yesterday morning, it looked like Gizzy was trying to go to the Bridge. He just wanted to go outside. Today he ate more than yesterday. Now she's really confused. And she's stressing out about it big time.

Here's your chance. Good idea? Bad idea? Why?

Thanks.

16 comments:

Karen said...

Ok Maybe getting a 4th cat will keep you buzy enough so that your mom can tend to gizzy and jasmine more. I do not know what to say. I say go for it. But i am a sucker for a cute kitty

The Meezers or Billy said...

um, mommy finks it might be a good fing. if it were her, she saided that she would put you and zorro togefurr in a room after a day or two, and let you two bond, then introduce him to the rest of the house. that's just her opinion.

Sometimes older cats act weird like they wants to run off to the Bridge, and then they change their mind.

Hot(M)BC said...

We finks yore Mommy should try imaginin that no matter what efurryfing will werk out, then look inside n see how her heart feels about Zorro. Then go do what her heart tells her to do. (And we finks it sounds like her heart's tellin her to 'dopt Zorro. :) ) We hopes Gizzy stays 'round fur a long time yet, n Jasmine too, but you'd haf lotsa fun wif a younger kitty who didn't get wore out wif all yer energy. So we finks it's a good idear. A'course, we's got a big cat fambly here, so we's kinda in approval of them. hehehe
Purrrrrrrs,
Sanjee, Boni, Mini, Pepi and Gree

Anonymous said...

Hi Millie, This came up before; I was a spoilsport then and I'm afraid I'll be one again. My main concern is around Gizzy. He's sick w/who-knows-what. Personally, I'd want to test to at least try to find out what's ailing him. Maybe it's treatable; maybe it's not. But people have different ideas about how much testing should be done on any particular cat.

If Gizzy is currently the alpha cat, I'd worry that Zorro - if the volunteer is correct about his political aspirations - would challenge Gizzy for alpha cat status. That could be stressful.

Of course, it's entirely possible that Zorro joins your family and everything works out swimmingly. I certainly hope that would be the case. Bco Gizzy's delicate health status, however, I'd be hesitant to add any potential stressors to his life at this time. If it doesn't go well, it's kind of hard to undo.

Best wishes whatever you do.

Just Ducky said...

I thinks I agree with Annie. Better to keep the status quo while the Gizzy issues are resolved. A new kittie may add to much stress to everyone.

Anonymous said...

Keep the status quo , Gizzy
needs peace not a new alpha
cat to tend with,
kay lee

Anonymous said...

Man oh man... What a decision... I agree with both sides. I'm a one-kitty show, so even though mom wants to rescue everyone, she just donates the green papers when she can to help as many kitties as possible. BUT... I can see why having Zorro (great name, by the way) would help to keep Ms. Millie busy, and I can also see how it could stress out Gizzy. Maybe you could consult the v-e-t to get his opinion...

Anonymous said...

I'm going to say go for it now, and go with thee idea of keeping Millie and Zorro apart for a bit, the older the others get the harder it will be to introduce them, and believe me, I have 6 cats, and NO ONE will take alpha from Her Majesty and they learned that *very* fast, and I think Zorro will too. I can see it taking stress from gizzy as with a kitten her age, Millie might not pester him(Sorry Millie,but I imagine that's how a sr cat sees it), and leave him to rest/relax/ do what he needs too. If The Lady Mom feels like Zorro's the right fit, then do it, things will work themselves out.
Elphie

Toffee K. Ripple Fuzzypants & Feline American Angels said...

Millie ... Please let your mama know that makin' the choice about when to go to the bridge is an especially hard one. Fudgie kept us guessing for a very long time, and when the end came and the decision had to be made, we prayed that we made the right one and that we were being humane/merciful.
Please tell her to be strong and that you'll help her to mourn when the time comes ...
Purrs,
DMM

Max said...

The People thought Buddah would be good for me, too, but he dang near killed me at first. Now we exist together but we're not the friends they hoped for. You never really know what'll happen...

I think that if another kitty would stress Gizzy to the point that he might run for the Bridge, it's not a good idea. But if Gizzy would be ok with another kitty, why not? You might never be fast friends, but I bet you could learn to live together.

Anonymous said...

We have five kitties. We got two as kittens a few years ago for my daughter, because her cat (who is now around 20 years old) seemed ready to move on over the Rainbow Bridge.
For a week after we got the babies, the elderly cat was furious. She sulked and was excessively clingy and cross.
In the end, she got used to them, played more, and, apparently, felt better, since she's still alive and kicking, with no other signs of slowing down.

Anonymous said...

I would got for it. Zorro looks like a great cat who needs a great family. If you can, I would separate Zorro for a while and allow Millie to visit. Good luck.

Monty Q. Kat said...

Man, this is tough. Zorro could be a great 'little' brother for you and Jasmine and Gizzy could have some peace, but you don't want to stress Gizzy out.

Aw, SheBean's a sucker for a fuzzface. We vote for bringing Zorro home and maybe just having a spot for the older cats to hang in.

=^..^=

LZ said...

This is always a really hard decision and only your mom knows all of your personalities enough to really think it all through. I will say that the Lap Lady got me because Latte was really bugging Chase to play with him constantly. While Chase was an active cat for being middle aged, he wanted to nap more than Latte. By adding me Latte & I really bonded and Chase is much happier (though he's not my biggest fan).

But with Gizzy in such a state of uncertainty its hard to know what the stress of a new cat would do to him. But just trust your mom, she knows you all the best and will make a good decision!

Kaze

momsbusy said...

this is a tough decision.

it boils down to whether it would be more stressful for gizzy to put up with millies's antics or learn to deal with another male kitty. even tho they have had their hoohas removed they are still male and there will be an alpha cat. also will this stress jasmine out to the point her health declines at a more rapid pace?

you know more about the personalities of your cats than anyone else. asking the vet for his/her opinion as far as the medical aspect would be a good idea. your heart and your head will work together to make the right decision.

Karen Jo said...

This is a really tough one. I think getting a new cat could both de-stress (in the form of getting Millie a playmate so she doesn't bug him so much) and stress (in the form of a new cat who wants to be Alpha) Gizzy. In his present state, and seeing how much Jasmine resents Millie, I, personally, would not add another cat to the mix. You will have to look deep into your own heart to make this decision.