It’s an important decision finding a compatible kitten for your resident cat. Look at kittens at the SPCA, look for a sweet, affectionate one. Hopefully you’ll find the right one, click into place.
My daughter now works at the front desk of SPCA here, loves it, found an adorable, loving kitten, she easily adjusted to the other one.
Best wishes …
I was never a cat person until my first one came into my life nearly 50 years ago. From an ad in the local paper. My friends and I went to the house. The kids brought the dad cat in like a sack slung over their shoulder. My friends said, the kitten will have a very mellow personality. The fam said the kitten cried when her sister was sold and taken away. So, I got my first cat - a Siamese. Best $20 I ever spent.
She adored my parents and, though sick herself, stayed by my mom’s side, literally, during my mom’s final illness, then died herself 3 weeks later. I’ve noticed my cats guarding each other, and even me, during our various serious/fatal illnesses. My old girl came in this afternoon while I was lying on the bed, saw my tears, and gave me a face wash. I’m amazed at their sensitivity.
I love siamese-type cats. I raised Himalayans for a short while, a breeder told me it was their Siamese blood that made them affectionate. My Darcy now is Tonkinese which is Siamese and Burmese.
My two previous were Abyssinians, love red ones!, but neither one would allow me to trim nails so I had to haul them to a groomer or vet.
To me, this says that Amber was telling you that you were hers, as much as her people were hers. She accepted you, she loved you - just as much as you loved her. Doesn’t matter that she wasn’t “your dog” - you belonged to her because you loved her. So very sorry for your and her humans’ loss.
They are VERY attuned to their human’s feelings. When I lost my mother in Nov 2019, both Buster and Alfie were Klingons, wanting to be on me or near me or purring in my ear as they lay on the back of the couch while I sat there. The same when Buster had to leave us - Alfie was even more cuddly than usual, and after Alfie passed, Finnegan was by my side for a long while.
They know. 
Yes, this is a complete sentence!
Thank you for posting a photo of your first cat who looks very sweet.
I believe that pets, even those who aren’t our own, can definitely sense a human’s or even other animal’s pain or health issues. I think the greater being that created the universe decided that we need pets for just that reason.
Thank you for that touching comment. I think I was meant to live with my friends and Amber (and their other dog, Chai) because of the issues I was going through at that time in my life. And I’m fairly sure that said friend asked me to do those things to take care of her dogs because she knew I needed that boost of confidence I’d feel from the love their dogs had to share.
I’m so sorry to hear this. Until about 10 years ago, I was never a cat person. I grew up severely allergic to cats, so I always preferred dogs. Spawn2 ‘force adopted’ a cat, though (the cat’s owner was a roommate who abandoned the apartment AND cat), and Spawn2 could not bear to turn said cat out into the streets or shelter. Lurch turned out to be quite a lovable cat, and that’s when my cat defenses started crumbling. After Lurch died, they befriended a neighborhood cat who was always hanging around the apartment, and who now makes himself at home in three or four different units, including Spawn2’s, coming and going as he pleases. Muddy is quite the character.
As for losing a pet, it’s hard. I have always found solace in an old essay, originally published as an editorial in The Oregonian nearly a century ago. I’m not going to paste it here, because it’s quite lengthy, but here’s the link: https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2019/01/where-to-bury-a-dog-the-oregonians-ben-hur-lampman-1925-classic.html#:~:text=Beneath%20a%20cherry%20tree%2C%20or,in%20life%20or%20in%20death.
Every time I read it, I think of all the dogs to whom I’ve had to say ‘goodbye’, and I get a little teary. [Who’s chopping onions??] Even though it’s about dogs, the sentiments apply here, too.
I grew up with dogs, too, but I am a cat convert now. Pets of any kind make life a lot better, although I don’t quite understand having fish or keeping birds in a cage.
I had a little dog growing up. She had a heart 10x her size.
I have had fish, too, in everything from a half gallon bowl to a 90 gallon show tank (show tanks are the ones that can be as tall as they are wide). It’s surprisingly soothing to sit in front of a tank and watch the fish swim around. Birds I don’t get, though.
Yes, I’ve considered the soothing/meditative effect of looking at aquaria. Friends of ours have a 25 yr old turtle who is kind of adorable. He actually likes his head scritched just a little.
The bird thing just makes me sad. We were at the PetSmart across the street to get kitty litter, and there was this poor bird in a cage trying to bite his way out through a metal screen. I couldn’t watch that for much longer than a minute.
I agree with you about birds needing to be free. (If I’m honest I know my cat would vote to be free outdoors too!)
I had a friend (sadly deceased) who was obsessed with birds. All his earnings went to support himself modestly and the birds. No savings. He never invited me in to see them, he was ashamed of the mess or something. Looking back, I should have insisted.
He had over 100 birds in cages, mostly parrots and knew so much about birds. If he had babies, he’d have to sell them soon or he’d get attached and have to keep them.
He drove a cab at night in Las Vegas and every single day it would take him about 3 hours to clean all those cages and feed them. He also had 2 cats.
When he died suddenly of a heart attack, it’s a good thing another bird person lived across the street, had a key, checked up on him.
Your late friend sounds like he might’ve been a hoarder, which is problematic enough when it’s “just” stuff, but I just can’t wrap myself around keeping so many animals/birds in cages.
As for cats, it’s been proven over and over again that they lead healthier lives indoors. And don’t go on murdering rampages in the nabe. Unless a cat is used to being outdoors previously, of course, as that can be difficult for both the cat and the owner.
Yes, it’s a form of hoarding. I forgot to mention, his cats didn’t go after the birds, it was live and let live. Our mutual friend told me the noise from the birds was overwhelming; he always had to rent a house, not an apartment.
I had a sixty gallon tank with Oscars. When I needed to move, and looked for options, they were so big,I was told I needed a recipe!
I think I finally got a pet store to take them.
I once heard that pet stores love to sell oscars because they will continue to grow no matter how large or small their tank is. When they get too big, people will either take them back to the store (for the store to resell at a huge markup) OR they buy a bigger tank. Either way, the store wins.
My mother shared this essay with me some 50 years ago. Eternal truth. Thanks for uploading it.
