Been away for quite a while, and a lot has happened.
My kitten Gaudi died of FIP in March 2012, and the rescue I got him from felt sorry for me and offered me another cat of my choice free of charge.
I adopted Romeo, who turned out to be extremely bold towards the other cats, and would chase and fight them when they ran. So after trying for a month I took him back and brought Gaudi's brother Connor home instead. At first, I had decided against Connor because he reminded me so much of Gaudi, but when I saw him again, I could bear the likeness and even found it uplifting, as if Connor was keeping Gaudi alive in a way by living the life Gaudi couldn't have. I named him Connor MacLeod, after the immortal highlander, because 2 of his brothers had died of FIP, so I figured he would need more than the usual nine lives. I felt it would be unfair to another family if they adopted him, not knowing he had a much higher risk of getting FIP, and decided every day he had with us would be a bonus. He is now nearly 4 years old, and past the age where cats usually fall victim to FIP. So the danger has passed, he now has as much chance of getting it as any other cat.
But I could not get Romeo out of my mind, and when the rescue informed me that he had calmed down considerably after a few months, I took him back. It turned out he had only just been neutered when I first got him, and the testosterone was still raging through his blood. Being a fully grown tom, it took him 3 months to start behaving like a neuter. Connor and Romeo have been thick as thieves from the start, playfighting one moment and sleeping entwined like lovers the next.
Last summer, my beloved tortie Josje was found to have bone cancer, osteosarcoma, which had spread to the chest, and probably to the brain, so we had to let her go before her suffering became too great. Two months later, Ricky woke us up in the middle of the night. He was screaming and could not get up. We raced him to the vet, and by 4 am, we had lost him, too. He had a blood clot blocking the artery to his hind legs, which could not be remedied, and he was in a lot of pain, so he had to be pts straight away.
So in October, we adopted Mowgli, a lovely tom, black and white like Ricky, and with the posture and soft silkiness of Josje. I am convinced that between the two of them, Josje and Ricky chose him for us. He is extremely affectionate, and though he wasn't used to getting all cuddly with other cats and didn't feel quite comfortable with Romeo and Connor's urge to seek him out at first, they will now often sleep quite close together.
He has learned to extend his affections to our other cats, just like Connor, who used to be totally cat-oriented when he came to live with us, has learned to be just as affectionate towards his humans.
Catweazle is now 16 years old, and still going strong.
Tosca, who was born feral and only ever came home to eat, has stopped coming home altogether and has taken up residence in the park where she used to spend most of her time anyway. She still loves us to come and visit her, and will accept the food we bring her, but it is very clear that the park is her home, and we are her visitors. She is totally self-sufficient and the food we bring her are just an extra to the mice and rats she catches.
Xena is still a warrior princess, but she has grown big and rather fat. I suspect her to be a six dinner Sid.
Wobbel is getting on, but he is still the same sweet, funny character.
Catweazle
Tosca
Xena
Wobbel
Romeo
Connor
Mowgli
