Jan 25 2009
Grandparenting a Dog or Cat
I could tell you more than a couple of stories about becoming “grandparents” to a dog or cat.
“Grandparenting” means taking in a pet that one of our adult children has not been able to handle, or feed, or properly house. We’ve done it more than once. A move to a new apartment that did not allow animals was the simplest case; taking in a 100 pound lab-rottweiler cross due to a divorce was the most difficult.
When you bring a new animal into a home, any dog or cat, there is a tremendous amount of adjustment that must take place, both on the part of the new animal and by the resident animals. When personal space is “invaded,” when sleeping arrangements, the daily routine, the food and the bowls are all different, EVERYONE has to adjust. (Even the people)
When we took in a cat with a serious personality disorder, she lived by herself in a room and wouldn’t come out or socialize with the others for two weeks. Eventually, our most personable kitty, an orange tabby, took it upon herself to jump over the barricade and check out the new resident. The dogs also quit “monitoring” the room from just out of sight. Great little troopers.
Cheesie, the orange tabby, loves to bring socks and underwear down from the bedroom to leave as “gifts” for people downstairs. Oscar, the Black and white, will bring dead birds to the back door and “gift” us with those. Max the manx has no tail and since he had surgery for a broken hip, his rear end looks just like a rabbit. Sometimes he sort of “hops” too.
We brought in a rescued dog who had to be the “alpha” dog in the house. She weighed twenty pounds, but latched onto the lips and snout of a 70-pound chow chow to tell him that there was a new sheriff in town. I’m afraid we failed with her, but did find her a wonderful home where she could (and does) rule the roost.
A rescued Doberman was a gentle soul; so calm, even the cats accepted her immediately. She was older and we soon determined that she was deaf. Totally. After only two months with us she had a heart attack and died.
Animals can have a very calming effect on humans. That is one of the benefits of bringing pets into extended care facilities and nursing homes to visit the residents. Stroking a cat is calming for the cat too.
Our daughter-in-law found an abandoned kitty along the road out in a remote area. She brought her to us. That kitty was WILD after living on the streets, but she became the personable orange tabby with the big welcome that I described above. Another rescued cat was an outdoor guy who was in charge of the entire yard. This was a cat that we eventually passed along to our grandkids. They enjoyed him (when he came around).
During the past ten years we have enjoyed the company and companionship of eight dogs and six cats, but never more than three of each at any one time. We don’t exactly run a revolving door operation; most who come, stay. Sit and stay.
