Earl and I are just back from the Humane Society. We went to meet a cat that I had seen online who has lived at the Humane Society for a while.
The very friendly girl working in the cat area introduced us to Tatum, who is almost four years old. He’s a big boy, weighing in at nearly 15 pounds. He was carefree when we stopped by his cage, he looked at us with the air of feline disinterest. I waved to him but he didn’t wave back.
We had to wait for the “meeting room” to be vacated by Theo, who apparently needs to be in there because he is so energetic but he doesn’t like any of the other cats.
Tatum, Earl and I went in and we learned about Tatum’s history and the habits he has exhibited while living at the shelter since January. He is a very nice boy and he liked head-butting my legs and playing with some of the provided toys and the like, but he did not like to be picked up. He’s a sturdy boy and when I tried to pick him up he made a deep, chatter like sound that wasn’t really angry sounding but it was definitely a sound of discontentment. He was fine as long as he was at your feet, but he did not want to be off the floor.
While Tatum is very nice, Earl pointed out that I’m one that likes to cuddle and nap with a feline friend, and while Tatum was purring until I tried to pick him up, there just wasn’t the click that I was expecting. I thanked him for his time, gave him some nice pets on the head and told it was a pleasure to meet him.
We then decided to meet Theo, the cat that was in the meeting room before we met Tatum. Theo was the exact opposite of Tatum, he did not want to be on the floor, he wanted to be on Earl’s head. I picked him up and put him on my lap and he kept going until he was standing on my shoulders. He then walked over to Earl’s shoulders and head and just started rubbing against Earl’s beard. He was very chatty and energetic and we knew if Theo came home with us he would be airborne the majority of the time. I thanked him for the privilege of meeting him and then we picked up a pre-adoption form and made our way for the exit.
Meeting Tatum and Theo was very nice and I enjoyed spending time with them, but it made me realize that I’m not quite ready for a new feline addition to our home yet. I still miss Tom too much and in the same way that Tom did not replace Gideon when Tom moved in with us, I don’t want the next cat to replace Tom, I want them to come in on their own merits and be part of our family, just like Tom was.
I know that we’ll be going back to the Humane Society to visit more cats in the future, but today was not the day. It was great to meet Tatum and Theo though.
