DB Now the Queen of Sheba

With all that’s been happening in little Lavonia recently, I’ve hardly had time to write about anything else, but yesterday little DB began a new chapter in her life.

She was adopted by my cat-loving insurance agent.

As much as I love her, it was time for her to leave our little feline nest. I realized that after Zoe started exhibiting some behavioral issues she never had before.

I’ve had cats for over 30years and when I did rescue in Atlanta, I’d often field calls from cat owners wanting to give up their pets because of certain behavioral problems – mainly they stop using the litterbox.

The scenarios usually went something like this:

“We just adopted a kitten and our other cat has stopped using the litterbox so we have to get rid of her.”

That always infuriated me. Yeah, lets dump the adult cat you’ve had for 10 years on the side of the road because it’s telling you it doesn’t like the kitten. Let’s not try to find a new home for the kitten that’s infinitely more adoptable than your middle-aged feline. No, just throw the old cat out like yesterday’s garbage.

So here I am, years later. I come home one afternoon last week to find my beautiful Zoe pee’ing on my bed! She let it all out too…every last drop.. before running under the bed and then out the back door.

I had just changed the sheets and comforter and cleaned the entire house the day before.

I was furious. She did it right in front of me! Then I started noticing pee in the bathtub and on the area rug in my bedroom. ZOE!!!

“You’re outta here!” I screamed in a fit of anger as I stripped the bed down to the mattress and got the Lysol spray out, then dragged the area rug to the laundry room.

Then, I suddenly realized that I was just like all those people years ago who called to turn in their cats for not using the litterbox – reacting to the behavior and not trying to find and fix the cause behind it.

And I knew immediately what my 5-year old ZoZo was doing. ..telling me she was not happy about that kitten DB and all the attention I was giving her.

Pee’ing on the bed (which she hadn’t slept on pretty much since the kitten arrived) was her way of claiming back her territory and me.

oh.

Then I began to notice other problems. Cat spats just about every night before bedtime. My meezer Mia and her blue-eyed buddy Summer were beating up on DB whenever she tried to play with them. Mia is 12lbs of solid cat. She can squish bugs just by sitting on them. She kept trying to squish DB.

Rusty was hissing at DB and pushing her away now instead of the gentle play he used to engage in with her when she was smaller. Simon would smack at her, annoyed at her antics and Supper had stopped playing with his toys. Even Rosie, everyone’s mom, was acting she like she didn’t want her around anymore.

A pattern was emerging and until Zoe had protested on my bed, I hadn’t noticed there was a problem.

But apparently,little DB was just one too many cats in the house and was inadvertently robbing my other cats of their attention.

Well I thought about it long and hard over the weekend. DB was over her upper respiratory. I really can’t afford another cat right now. So, on Monday, I stopped by Pat’s office, which is around the corner from the radio station and asked her if she was still interested in adopting DB. She was.

So yesterday, I took DB over to her new mom. Last night, she met her new siblings, a black and white tuxedo kitten her same age and a little 9wk old tabby boy. Pat renamed her Sheba and she made herself right at home.

“There’s toys everywhere in the house,” Pat said this morning. “She spent last night watching the other two play and tear around the house.”

This is a great home for her and I have no doubt she’ll be loved and as happy there as she ever was with me.

Meantime, it was back to our quiet routine last night at my house. Baby jumped up on the bed and slept with me for the first time in months. There were no cat spats. Suppy played with his toys and best of all, Zoe seemed to be at peace with me and the world.

All is as it should be.