Tuesday, December 29, 2020

The cat who fell upstairs

On my post "Moving Adventures," a reader asked: "I was wondering what happened to your barn cat you had.Were the new owners going to take care of him? Hopefully. Would be kind of sad to leave him behind and used to having someone around and feeding him as well.Winter can be brutal for animals."

This is in reference the cat who adopted us a couple years, whom we christened Simba because he looked like a lion. (That's a mouse hanging from his jaws.) Since Don is allergic to indoor cats and since Mr. Darcy does everything in his power to kill any cat he sees, taking Simba with us when we moved was out of the question. Our original intent was to leave him for the new owners of our house.

  

Well, when Older Daughter returned from her four-year stint in New Jersey, she absolutely fell in love with Simba and rechristened him Frumpkin. New goal: Frumpkin goes with Older Daughter when she moves to her new place. It's clear Frumpkin used to be an indoor cat anyway, so it seemed like a good plan.

Now that she has her own place, Older Daughter is now the proud owner of Frumpkin. And oh my, this cat fell upstairs. He's been bathed and groomed, the vet cleared up an ear infection, and soon (he won't like this!) he gets neutered. (To our surprise, he's an intact tomcat. With all that fur, we had no idea. Apparently the vets had never seen such a quiet and mellow tomcat before.)

I asked her to send me some of her favorite photos of Frumpkin in his new digs.

Coming home to find the cat waiting for her in the window:

 

Lord Frumpkin presiding over the bed:

Frumpkin watching a movie. Or rather, Frumpkin lying on Older Daughter's chest while she watches a movie. (I think this is my favorite photo. He looks so happy!)

 Frumpkin discovers the couch:

 Frumpkin discovers the bookshelf:

 
Frumpkin discovers the cat tree:
 

Frumpkin watching "Cat TV" (birds!)

This is "Frumpkin joining me at the computer to help me shoot bad guys as per our nightly ritual," explains Older Daughter.

This is Frumpkin watching Older Daughter as she emails me the photos of him for this blog post.

So yes, Frumpkin fell upstairs. He's a very happy cat.

22 comments:

  1. What wonderful news for the end of this terrible year. We almost lost our beloved Boxer on the day after Christmas. We thought we were going to have to put her down. As of yesterday it seems we have a little more time with her. Animals are so good for the soul! What would we do without them?

    So very happy for Frumpkin. What a great place for him to end up; Older Daughter obviously will spoil him which he undoubtedly deserves!

    Ouida Gabriel

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  2. That was a wonderful post! It does indeed look like he fell upstairs and is very happy. I recently got an e mail from our son with pictures of his new blond. A pretty tabby that he has named Bella.

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  3. Frumpkin seems not at all to question his good fortune, as if he was born for it. All hail Lord Frumpkin.

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  4. He looks like he's smiling. So happy for him!

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  5. I'm a sucker for orange tabby cats, especially the long-haired ones. He reminds me so much of the Maine Coon cat that I had for 15 years. I think he and older daughter needed each other. Thanks so much for sharing the story and the photos.

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  6. Gosh, this made me so happy! Frumpkin is spoiled rotten and deserves every bot of it!

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  7. what a wonderful lifestyle change for him!

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  8. what a wonderful lifestyle change for him!

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  9. That is wonderful news. Frumpkin is a most special cat. Congratulations to both your Daughter and her new Orange Kitty. Red

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  10. I'm the reader who asked the question about your kitty. I just got on to check your website and saw this post. INDEED this made me very, very happy. Maybe even happier than Frumpkin!! I know you were always very responsible with your animals so I figured you would come up with a solution for his care and this all ended up beautifully for him and your daughter. I thank you and her for making sure he had a good home and obvious that it is and as you said, he fell upstairs! He is beautiful and by the look of those photos he seems as if he couldn't be happier. Thank you all for making his new life the best. Blessings to all.

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  11. That is one contented-looking cat!

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  12. Awww, nice to hear that Older Daughter gave ol Frumpkin an indoor place again. He's a cute fella. I'm a cat guy myself, and lost my 22 year old tomcat, Big Mac, back in March. Still haven't gotten another cat, though.

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  13. Made my eyes tear up! I can see how he adores her. God bless her and Frumpkin

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  14. Thank you for this warm, wonderful post.
    We all needed it! He's a beautiful cat and is going to live happily ever after. Sigh....

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  15. I know you wrote about older daughter taking over the wood working business and then about the covid issues with the business and then older daughter got an apartment near work. Did she go back to being a nanny? Is she still saving for a ranch of her own? Your posts are so encouraging. We have been sitting for a month as my husband recovers from covid so it is nice to see life outside of these walls.

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    1. She's still interested in taking over the woodcraft business, but it's kinda pointless at the moment since our wholesalers are waiting until the lockdowns ease. She's currently working two jobs. I don't want to give away too much, but one job has similar aspects with nannying, and the other is flex work she can do during off hours or off times. She enjoys both.

      - Patrice

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  16. What a wonderful ending to 2020 for him. For us, who love our pets as well. They have been our constant companions throughout this "the year of the pandemic" Isolated and alone they provide comfort and a sense of wellbeing to many this year. We were "dog"persons for many years and since cats are more self reliant and not as dependent we (in our older years) appreciate the ability to travel and not worry(too much anyway) about leaving our pet tabby Tommy, our spice "short hair". His predecessor Charlie was nearly identical to Frumpkin less the long hair of course. It also took us nearly a year for us to adopt him. In some ways also he adopted us in showing up at our residence nearly a year later. He had been dumped off somewhere near our house. Took him to the shelter and found out he had been "chipped", tried to locate the owner but were unsuccessful. Took him home. Many more "cat" stories I could share but this is long enough.

    Older daughter,

    May you have many, many wonderful years with Frumpkin!

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  17. What a wonderful ending to 2020 for him. For us, who love our pets as well. They have been our constant companions throughout this "the year of the pandemic" Isolated and alone they provide comfort and a sense of wellbeing to many this year. We were "dog"persons for many years and since cats are more self reliant and not as dependent we (in our older years) appreciate the ability to travel and not worry(too much anyway) about leaving our pet tabby Tommy, our spice "short hair". His predecessor Charlie was nearly identical to Frumpkin less the long hair of course. It also took us nearly a year for us to adopt him. In some ways also he adopted us in showing up at our residence nearly a year later. He had been dumped off somewhere near our house. Took him to the shelter and found out he had been "chipped", tried to locate the owner but were unsuccessful. Took him home. Many more "cat" stories I could share but this is long enough.

    Older daughter,

    May you have many, many wonderful years with Frumpkin!

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  18. We call these old Toms "warriors" in our cat rescue group. Old warriors who just want a soft place to land. They may look fierce (and most of ours have no ears, the results of years of hard living), but they are mellow creampuffs. So glad Frumpkin ended up livin' the dream.

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  19. Wondered what was going on when I saw the parrot cage in your new digs. Good solution to two problems. Happy or Sane New Year to you and yours. Look forward to hearing about your new adventure. Julia

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  20. I love all the pictures, but I especially love the third picture down of Frumpkin from the top where he is on the bed and up close. He looks quite happy and smug! Very cute cat. I am looking forward to more pictures and stories of him in the future as well as ones of your new home and property. I have enjoyed your blog through the many years as it's very informative and enjoyable as well. Thanks for sharing your lives with us...you too Frumpkin!

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  21. He is such a sweet cat....All 4 of my cats are now gone and I miss them terribly..
    Happy New Year from NC

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