Other People Miss Him Too

Googie wasn't just our cat-he had other cats who lived with him. He was kind of a bully but that didn't stop  Oliver from becoming his friend. They would wrestle and chase each other around. Then they would sleep together and Oliver would clean Googie's head. When Oliver first came Googie hissed and hissed at him. Then gradually they became friends. Googie was happy to have a young cat to play with - he was five when Oliver came to live with us and Oliver was about seven months.- and our other cats were older-Chuckles was 12 then and Vladimir 16. So a playful energetic cat was good for him. He used to stalk poor Vladimir before Oliver. In retrospect I think he was trying to play but Vladimir had no interest so it would end up as a fight.

This is Oliver and Googie sitting together on a food storage bin. Quite appropriate since they were both the most food driven of the cats.Since Googie's death Oliver has been acting strangely. He has been spending a lot of time in the bathroom by himself, he isn't as interested in food and he looks a bit lost. I don't know if he knows Googie is gone or if he just knows something is different. He plays with our foster kitten Sherry but some things, like the laser toy, don't interest him. He and Googie used to both chase it together. Or one would watch the other. There's a good chance I'm reading way too much into Oliver's behavior and projecting what I imagine Oliver might be feeling onto him. A VERY good chance.But that's okay-I like to believe Googie was loved by his cat friends and that in some way they miss him too.