We adopted Normandy, a young black cat, a little over a month ago. Our beloved cat Scamp had recently passed away from health complications from his old age, and our remaining cat Mugsy was unaccustomed to being the sole animal in a household. We brought her in to be a companion to Mugsy and the inheritor of Scamp’s legacy.
We were initially concerned. Mugsy is a friendly cat but he’s not for beginner cat owners. His idea of playtime, with humans or felines, is to bite you as hard as he can. So when we were searching for a new cat to adopt we were worried he would scare a newcomer away with his brand of “friendliness.” Scamp, and Rascal before him, never enjoyed Mugsy’s harsh playtime.
Not only did Mugsy immediately accept Normandy upon her arrival, he became more chill than we’ve ever seen him. He still tangles with her on occasion, but she dishes it out as hard as he does. Instead of running screaming from him like Scamp and Rascal did, she meets his playtime head-on and seemingly encourages it. Then again, she is around ten years younger than the old man, so she’s naturally more spritely than he is.
Their age gap is striking as well. As soon as we brought in a significantly younger cat it seemed to suck the youth right out of him. It’s like he realized how old he is at fourteen, and took on the mannerisms of an older cat. I’d always said that when Mugsy got “old” wouldn’t be gradual, it would be like a switch being flipped. Normandy appears to have flipped that switch for him.
But he’s happy, and so is she. As I write this I can hear them chasing each other downstairs, with no howls of protest or pain from either of them. It’s not only been interesting seeing Mugsy change with Normandy’s arrival; it’s been a relief having cats who finally get along with each other.