Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Vote: Does Belle need a friend?

This is Belle with another one of her friends, Cecil. Cecil is a plastic owl. In a former life, he was used as a piggy bank (or more correctly, an owl bank), but these days he enjoys a life of leisure, sitting by the window with Belle and taking in the scenery. Cecil is a perfectly nice owl, but he is not overly ambitious. I get the impression that he would very much be content to spend the rest of his retirement perched on a windowsill, not doing much of anything. "To each his own", that's what Belle always says about Cecil.

Lately Andrea has been saying that Belle should have a friend. And not a plastic owl or a stuffed elephant, but a real honest to goodness kitty friend. This sounds like a good idea, in theory. The problem is that Belle has only ever met a handful of other kitties since we've known her, and none of those meeting have gone very swimmingly. In fact, Belle is typically rather rude around other kitties. She usually ends up hissing at them, and sometimes taking a swipe at them with her little paw. Not very nice, Belle!

Andrea seems to think that eventually Belle would come around to another kitty, at least to the point where she would not hiss at it whenever she saw it. I am not entirely sure if she is correct in this matter, but I would hope that Belle would get tired of hissing eventually.

And then there is the question of whether Belle would actually enjoy another kitties company, after she got used to it. Would they play parcheesi together? Would they cuddle together and provide me with super cute photo ops? Or would Belle still prefer the company of Cecil the plastic owl to that of the new kitty in town? It's a tough call! Loyal audience, what do you think?! Should Belle get a new kitty friend, or is she better off with her owl and elephant?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Could you become a foster cat parent and test the situation before committing to adopting a friend for Belle?

Anonymous said...

Have you asked Belle what she thinks of having a new kitty in the family?
Has she ever met a kitten or only fully grown cats? If it's a young friend, perhaps she would take it under her wing and teach it all it needs to know like how to use and flush the toilet, how to pose for photos, how to ride the go-karts and the best napping techniques. On the other hand she may just be jealous if she has to compete for attention.
The previous commenter makes a good point about fostering. That may be a good way to test the waters and if everything worked out maybe you could adopt the cat you were fostering. But they may not let you foster if Belle doesn't play nice with other kitties.

Anonymous said...

I think Belle could use a friend! I could give you some helpful tips on how to ease the transition. It only took Eddie 4 days to like Westie.

Anonymous said...

Belle does not seem like the type that would do well with a kitty roomate. Kitties can be addicting - you usually either have one or you are a "cat lady" (in your case, a "cat couple"). I, personally, am in favor of multiple kitties, but I do not live in your home. Keep in mind that while Belle may not LIKE her newly adopted sibling, I'm sure she would still LOVE said sibling (if kitties such as Belle are capable of such a silly emotion). Perhaps go to the shelter and inquire as to an older cat who is used to other pets? Then at least it would be good at ignorning Belle - and that might teach her some manners. -Aurora