Pink loved her cat tree. Her favorite spot was sitting on top, teasing the dogs.

We are slowly adjusting to life without Pink. Even though she was such a small cat, I am surprised by how much I notice her absence.

Matt confesses to missing Pink most in the mornings. This is when he would meet up with her in the basement — Pink always curled up in an old winter coat — and he would engage in a lengthy call-and-response.

“Meow” … “Meow” … “Mow!” … “Mow!” … “Mew” … “Mew.” And so on.

Just this evening, I finally pulled her collar from my purse. It suddenly made everything feel so permanent.

And I realized I had to do something with her belongings. For a cat, this means her kibble (I had just bought a large bag of Iams senior cat food), a half bag of litter and the superduper cat tree that we just purchased three months ago.

Cheryl and Maximus Cutus. (Photo by Matt Greenberg)

I immediately thought of my friend Cheryl, who with her partner Jenny recently adopted a second cat, Charlie. They already have a tabby named Kramer, and two dogs, Maximus Cutus (a border collie/husky mix) and Elliot (a beagle/basset hound/corgi mix).

Cheryl and Jenny have two daughters at home, Maria, 9, and Nina, 11, and two older daughters, Charlotte, 22, and Emma, 20. They are all big animal lovers.

So when I heard that they brought Charlie the cat into their family, I asked if Pink’s food, litter and kitty condo would come in handy. It ends up, the timing was perfect.

As we sat chatting in Cheryl’s front room, Charlie slowly inched toward the cat tree. Before we knew it, he was sniffing it out. Matt picked up the soft gray cat and put him on a perch.

Charlie approved.

Best of all, this provided an opportunity to reconnect with an old friend. I’ve known Cheryl for 20 years, but we’ve largely been out of touch. This, in spite of her living exactly two-and-a-half blocks directly north of my living room.

We talked of doing dinner, and maybe a movie night in her yard. Matt and I can’t wait. We’ll bring the popcorn and dog treats.

Charlie makes a new home of Pink’s cat tree. (Photo by Cheryl Pine-Stanczyk)

Lexie update

For the last six days, Lexie has been eating dog food again! On most of these days, she has eaten both breakfast and dinner. I have been feeding her senior Nutro Ultra Holistic Superfood (wet chunks) covered in a vitamin gravy we found at Big Lots. Somehow she loves it, and at times seems to look forward to it.

I still need to stand by her side as she eats, and diligently “fluff” the food when it gets too mushed to the sides, but she licks the bowl clean.

I can tell she’s gained weight, and her energy level is high. She has even taken to occasional wrestling bouts with Charlie the puppy.

Oh yes. I know. Every day is a gift.

This. Is. Awesome.

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