Thinking of taking in Sylvester's sister Charlotte

[les26]

When I got my guy Sylvester almost 9 years ago the woman that had him said if I wanted his sister Charlotte I could take her and has told me that a few times after that, but we didn't want to do that back then and she also was very close with their father cat Reigns, said she slept on him every night so I said that I didn't want to break that up so we declined. About 3 weeks ago they had to put Reigns down, he was sick and it was time, and now they tell me that Charlotte cries through the night, and stands at the door thinking he is outside, which breaks our hearts to hear this. We are "toying" with the idea of asking if we could have her, I guess because I know it is my guy's sister, plus we know that she would have a better home here, they don't have a big place nor a lot of money, but we don't know if that would be a good idea or if it would just upset her more. I saw her in person, she is gorgeous, she looks like a mini version of Sylvester which I'm sure is part of the reason I am thinking of this, but we don't want to upset our place either, we are down to 5, Simba is the old guy at 22, 23 or older, we had to put Stanley down suddenly on Easter, had to put Slim down right before Christmas, lost my father on July 11th, so we have had our share of loss recently, but something about doing this interests me, but we don't know if it would be good or bad.

I don't even know if she and Sylvester would remember each other after almost 9 years?

Your opinions and thoughts please, thank you!

 

[vampiric_conure]

I say it wouldn't hurt to ask. If you decide to pick up Charlotte, pleaaaaase update us! .

 

[les26]

I say it wouldn't hurt to ask. If you decide to pick up Charlotte, pleaaaaase update us! .

I'm sure they wouldn't deny us taking her if I ask, I'm just weighing all of the options to see what might be best for all involved. Things are pretty calm now here, not the big losses like I mentioned that we had to endure these past 10 months, I wonder if we should let things remain calm or let our hearts outhink our heads like we have done MANY times in the past!

 

[Margot Lane]

Well, I know what readers are thinking…. But ultimately this is your decision.

 

[guarua]

I'm almost certain cats don't remember their littermates unless they were past kittenhood when separated. Even if they do I'm sure you know that it won't be a dramatic happy reunion. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!! And I love the name Sylvester for a cat.

 

[les26]

I'm almost certain cats don't remember their littermates unless they were past kittenhood when separated. Even if they do I'm sure you know that it won't be a dramatic happy reunion. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!! And I love the name Sylvester for a cat.

Yes the name fits him as you can see in the picture!

They were about 1.5 years old when I took Sylvester out of there, his father cat wanted to kill him! They used to get along until one day they both wanted to look out the window at a female cat and after that his father wanted to kill him, they used to keep my guy who they named "Charlie" in the bathroom and his father used to scratch at the bottom of the door to get to him so much he scratched a mouse like hole in the door! He used to sleep in the bathroom sink, and when he came here he jumped up and laid in the sink and I said "you don't have to do that here", and I always wanted a "Sylvester" so we changed the name, it fits better than "Charlie" too!

 

[neely]

Well, I know what readers are thinking…. But ultimately this is your decision.

Ditto!
If you are curious to see whether they will get along can you try an introduction for a week or more? This way you will know for sure and feel better about your decision. It would break my heart to hear Charlotte cry through the night and at the door. Maybe Deb and you can make a list of pros and cons or throw all caution to the wind. Please keep us updated.

 

[les26]

We really are on the fence about this. Things are pretty calm here now after all of the loss that we endured like I said, do we really want to disrupt that? What stress would it put on our cats, especially Simba who is about 23 years old? What stress would it put on Deb & I? And what stress would it put on Charlotte? Would she just come in here and hide? Would she wonder where are the people that took care of me, I lost my father and now I'm here with these people and cats?

I don't know...I think it would be nice to have Sylvester's gorgeous little sister here with us, but then again I think maybe it would just disrupt our little family here and we would look back and say "why did we do that? What were we thinking?" We're still only 3.5 months removed from the loss of my father, it might be too much right now...

 

[les26]

I see that my last post on here was 10/22, and 5 days later we had to put Simba down, so that put this idea away.

Or did it???

Since he passed, Deb saw a big grey cat outside that she said it's face looks like a combination of Sassy and Sugar, two great girls that we lost over the years, and Sylvester looks like Simon and Sebastian combined so I sort of knew where this might be heading...but we haven't seen her/him since. But today I took some cat food to the lady that I got Sylvester from almost 9 years ago, we still keep in touch. A coworker gave me some food from Costco that his cat doesn't eat, and none of ours did either, so I gave it to her, she feeds strays and has several inside including Sylvester's sister Charlotte. I asked how she was doing, she said she hides upstairs in the attic, doesn't let her pet her, and at night she comes down and stands by the door and cries, she thinks Reigns (her and Sylvester's father who was put down a month ago) is outside, and they were really close, she misses him really bad. Deb & I are sad to hear this, it breaks our hearts, we know we can give her a better life here, but we are so very hesitant and must REALLY think this out here, we are all still mourning Simba's loss, but we now wonder if he is nudging us and saying "think about his sister again"???

We don't want to make this house crazy, it used to be years ago when we had more but it's been quiet recently, so we don't want to upset the place, but it is quite intriguing and would be so cool to have his little sister here, if only we could coax her to trust us and come out and not hide.

We'll see...

 

[Furballsmom]

If I may, there may really be something here;

he is nudging us

 

[les26]

If I may, there may really be something here;

It could be.

When he passed it of course was not on our minds at all. But now as time is going by, I am thinking about it again.

I'll have to try to "channel" Simba's spirt and ask him about it

 

[les26]

I just spent almost 2 hours on the phone with Debbie, an Angel on Earth, who does TNR and works with Virginia who had Sylvester and now his sister Charlotte (all our cats names always began with an S so she will be Sharlotte!!) and all of her stray cats and actually helps her buy cat food with HER OWN MONEY, we talked about the horrible situation that this cat is in right now, just existing, hiding in this hoarder's place with really nowhere to go, nothing to do, grieving the loss of her father, another cat being mean to her, and it just broke my heart and I said that tomorrow I will call Virginia and tell her we want to take her and bring her here. She is suffering over there, just like Sylvester was, but we will give her a better life here. She isn't very social like Sylvester is, we may never really get to pet her or pick her up Debbie said, but then she said "but you don't know, she may come around and learn to love it" which we are hoping.

We will keep her in the big dog crate with blankets and food and water and toys and a litter box, just like all of the others when they first came in. I asked "what about the litter boxes?", meaning should I pick her up or try to and put her in one so she knows where they are? She suggested we keep her in the crate for about a week, then take the crate and keep it in the room with the litter boxes so she sees where they are. I then asked about the food and water and she said she will smell it and figure that part out, I hope so. But this is what we are going to do, and we hope that she will see how loving we are and realize she is 500 times better off than where she is now, she is afraid she will just waste away and die there over time, so we have to get her out and start this "adoption" process. I will call Virginia tomorrow and Debbie said she can help me get her into a carrier so I can take her to a vet 9 miles from us that can check her out and board her until she is cleaned up and checked out, our vet and the other vets here don't have anyone who stays overnight with the animals but this one does, and that's where Sylvester and Simba and several others went before we brought them in and started them out in the dog crate.

So please wish us luck, we feel that we just have to do this for her, and I know that her being Sylvester's sister is a big part of why I feel I want her and have to help her!!!

 

[DeesCats]

Good luck on your journey getting Charlotte squared away and healthy and happy.

 

[les26]

Good luck on your journey getting Charlotte squared away and healthy and happy.

"Sharlotte" lol!!!

 

[Kwik]

Hi les26

You mean to tell me this little girl Sharlotte has been in the home she's in for 9yrs with a hoarder and the hoarder cannot pet her? Sharlotte hides in the attic and cries all night for Reign?Oh my Lord!

She exists now with no companion- you and Deb will familiarize her with a new territory to establish,you'll be petting her,you'll introduce her properly to your residents and she will live a great rest of her life instead of merely existing

No,she'll not remember Sylvester but she can have a new best friend- lots of them!I've no doubt she's much better off

Love,Kwik

 

[les26]

Hi les26

You mean to tell me this little girl Sharlotte has been in the home she's in for 9yrs with a hoarder and the hoarder cannot pet her? Sharlotte hides in the attic and cries all night for Reign?Oh my Lord!

She exists now with no companion- you and Deb will familiarize her with a new territory to establish,you'll be petting her,you'll introduce her properly to your residents and she will live a great rest of her life instead of merely existing

No,she'll not remember Sylvester but she can have a new best friend- lots of them!I've no doubt she's much better off

Love,Kwik

She has been crying for about 5 weeks since they put her father Reigns down, she stuck to him like glue, but now that he's gone she hides and cries, it's so sad, but we're taking steps to get her even as early as today or tomorrow!!

 

[Kwik]

She has been crying for about 5 weeks since they put her father Reigns down, she stuck to him like glue, but now that he's gone she hides and cries, it's so sad, but we're taking steps to get her even as early as today or tomorrow!!

So happy to hear that you are moving quickly for her.......cant wait to see her

 

[FeralHearts]

For once I'm glad I was late to the party.

Reading this thread was like a little movie unfolding before my eyes - will they take her - won't they? Oh I hope they do. Oh It will be okay in the long run if they do. *Bites nails and eats popcorn*

I get to the middle of the story and I see - YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they are taking her.

Bless your faces for taking her. Short term pain of introductions - long term gain.

So please wish us luck, we feel that we just have to do this for her, and I know that her being Sylvester's sister is a big part of why I feel I want her and have to help her!!!

Sending you the best luck ever. I don't think you will need it though.

This is the start of a beautiful story.

 

[neely]

So please wish us luck, we feel that we just have to do this for her, and I know that her being Sylvester's sister is a big part of why I feel I want her and have to help her!!!

Over the years I've learned sometimes you just have to go with your gut. It's that intuition or instinct that tells you when something is right. And I have a strong hunch Sharlotte was meant to be with Deb and you. Wishing you all the best of luck, can't wait to hear updates.

 

[Kwik]

Over the years I've learned sometimes you just have to go with your gut. It's that intuition or instinct that tells you when something is right. And I have a strong hunch Sharlotte was meant to be with Deb and you. Wishing you all the best of luck, can't wait to hear updates.