And Then There Were Seven!

I've noticed that as she gets older, our cat Sabrina - who is beautiful and who can be loving and sweet - gets more and more grumpy. She's almost nine (getting old and set in her ways perhaps), and she first came to live with Eric when she was barely a year old. Looking back over events of the past eight years, I guess I can understand her grumpiness.

When she was first adopted by Eric, I was definitely in the picture but not full time because I still had my own apartment. So I was just an occasional visitor, and Sabrina likes occasional visitors. But what she really loves is being by herself in the house and sometimes having Eric around to pet her and of course feed her. When it was just the two of them, Sabrina was happy.

Fast forward a couple of years to our wedding, and I moved in for good. Sabrina probably would have been okay with that, but it just so happened that the same week I moved in, a tiny kitty showed up on the back porch. It took us a couple of weeks to coax him inside, and by then he was a new member of the family - Toby. Thus began Sabrina's general displeasure with the overall state of the household.

Any time we have company over for the day or evening, Sabrina thoroughly enjoys visiting with the guests. But if anyone stays overnight, she begins to state her objection with a certain meow and even a certain look on her face. So imagine how she has felt the past week now that Eric's mom AND cat are living with us! We added two additional household members without much warning, and it's pointless to try and explain to Sabrina that this is a temporary situation. She's just not hearing it.

One night this past week almost sent her completely over the edge. When I got home from work, there was a puppy wandering around the neighborhood. Some construction workers on our street told me the little guy had almost been hit several times and was obviously trying to find his way back home. He had a tag with a phone number, but I couldn't reach his owner. So...Peanut stayed with us for a few hours until we were able to return him home safely. He was a cute little squirt who minded his own business for the most part (which is impressive for a puppy), but once again, there was no reasoning with Sabrina.

Eight years ago, it was just the two of them - Sabrina and Eric - and Sabrina was happy. Today, there are six of us (and for one night - seven), and she is grumpy. Who can blame her, really?