Wary as he may be of them sometimes, Bud is the “family cat” to my nieces.
Now 12 and 8, they’ve wanted a cat for a long time but were vetoed by their parents, since the family was moving to Italy and it appeared my younger niece had allergies.
Well, now they’re finally settled in Italy, tests have confirmed my niece is not allergic to cats, and it turns out their new home comes with a feline.
A beautiful, super-friendly and affectionate Calico named Twix, who was fed, spayed and given veterinary care by the home’s previous family.
“She is super affectionate and lets us pet her a lot,” my brother texted me along with photos of Twix on a window sill and on the grass outside, enjoying scritches from the kids. “Even rolls on her back and has her stomach scratched.”
“Shiiit,” I responded. “Touching the stomach would get you killed with Bud … Well, you got a cat, whether you like it or not.”
It also looks like Bud will have a potential lady friend. I plan to visit for an extended amount of time and use my brother’s house as a base from which to explore Europe, and there’s just no way I’m going to leave Bud for months, especially when he’ll be 12.
He can handle a long weekend and even a couple of weeks, but months? I don’t think that would be good for either of us, and I worry that he may think I’m not coming back. We have never been separated for that long. He’s coming to Italy with me.
As for Twix, it looks like she’s been living on the property for quite a while. The kids have set up a little shelter for her with blankets. I advised my brother to make sure she has a water bowl that’s refilled regularly with fresh water, they’re feeding her wet food, and I’ll work on getting little Twix inside permanently if she isn’t already a house cat by the time I get there. I can be persistent! It looks like she can come and go as she pleases, so it may not be long before she decides it’s better to be inside and safe.
Pain In The Bud 
I am seriously impressed that you plan to take Bud with you, immediate questions are “how?” “are you sure?” “do you have enough snacks with you?” .
However I totally understand about not wanting to leave him. I flat refused a long holiday when Bets was in her 18th year (she lived to 20) as I couldnt leave her. Most recently in Florida our long term house guest sent me twice daily images of Bella and a recording of her purring it was still hard as I missed her shouting at me for food or “open this door immediately moron”
Buddy will obviously be taking lessons in Italian Feline Romantic calls to perfect his wooing of Twix. he cannot fail with his physique and legendary status!
Our best wishes and prayers for a safe journey, we sense a “diary” of your Italian tour and Buds adventures coming up on the site!
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You understand perfectly. I know 12 isn’t 18, but you never know how long they have, and I’m worried that a long absence could have an impact on his health as well if he gets depressed.
It’s going to be a pain in the ass, I’m sure, and I’m gonna have to get something from the vet to sedate him or chill him out, otherwise the rest of the passengers might try to throw him out at 40,000 feet.
But yeah, I just can’t leave him for months. Is there a DuoLingo for cats? “Repeat after me: Meow-are! Meowssimo! Meowngiare!”
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Your vet will most likely give you Gabapentin. Not sure. Good luck! I would also need something to knock me out. 🤣🤣
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Yeah it’s about 9 hours direct, which isn’t as bad as the 14 to 15 hours to Tokyo, but it does help to get knocked out. So 9 + an hour to get there because you never know how bad the traffic is on the Van Wyck, + 2 hours to make sure you have time to make it through security and all the other bullshit.
Too bad ocean liners aren’t a thing anymore.
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AWWWW! So cute. Something new on market called Pacagen for allergies. One person i know said it works. Spray on areas like beds, etc.
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Just looked it up. $76 per bottle lol.
There are also topical sprays (for use directly on the cat) and dry food that supposedly inhibits Fel d 1 production. All of them claim they’ve been validated in studies, but you really have to know the specifics, the methodology, who paid for the research, etc. It seems like this is exactly the kind of thing a consumer testing and review publication could help with.
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$76?!!!!! Yikes.
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$76!!!?
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And there is no way i would leave my cat for months unless family member takes care of my cat. I trust NO ONE. Did you hear about Manhattan woman trusted a so- called friend to take care of cat and had to bring her to court? Two years later owner wins her cat back. HER CAT.
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Is that the one with the woman who went overseas to care for her sick mom for a few months and her “friend” claimed she had given the cat to her instead of asking her to cat sit?
According to the article I read, she still hasn’t gotten the cat back. The former friend has until Oct. 1 and won’t return the cat because she says she’s going to appeal.
But the case is interesting because part of the judge’s rationale was considering what’s best for the cat. The article quoted legal experts saying that almost never happens because animals are viewed as property under the law.
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Yes. I think she had to go to Russia. We discussed this among friends and most, including me, said court system will not get involved. Not going to say but you can guess what.
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I would like to know more about this case because that is exactly what has happened to me.
My “friend” offer to cat-sit my cat while I was down on my luck and now I can’t get him back.
I offered to pay for his needs through Chewy.com and she turned me down.
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This is the story I read with some explanation on the legal considerations:
https://gothamist.com/news/judge-rules-nyc-woman-gets-custody-of-cat-after-2-year-legal-fight
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That is article that my neighbor told me about. The Gothamist. There is a special place in hell for people who steal cats because they are down in thier luck. Full disclosure here. One reason a pet should be stolen or kept is to save its life. About 15 years ago a pet store owner wanted to get rid of cat who no longer killed store mice. Worker called me in a panic. This cat was going to kill shelter. She stole cat and gave her to me. I kept her so i was part of that theft. She was never bought to a vet. She lasted 3 years with me and had some medical issues. I barely remember putting her to sleep as it was traumatizing for me. I had known this cat for quite a few years as she tried to follow me out the store.
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Your friend is wrong.
You can speak with a fake Italian accent by adding -ah to the end of most words.
My great-grandmother came to this country from Calabria in southern Italy and she lived well into my childhood. She had a genuine Italian accent and that’s how she spoke.
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Lots of people with that accent around here as well, due to the migration from southern Italy generations ago. When The Sopranos aired, suddenly there was an inexplicable increase in people who pronounced food like “galamad” (calimari), gabagool (capicola), mootsarell (mozzarella) and so on. They’re all corruptions of southern pronunciation, like the famous “marone” (Madonna).
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Well done, Cat Distribution System!
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A small update: Twix brought an orange tabby friend with her today. My bro sent me a photo of them both chowing down on wet food.
Also, she’s already going in and out of the house. I’m happy for the kids.
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