A Sad Parting

Kid 2 always wanted a dog.

For as long as I can remember, she's asked me if we could get a dog. "I'll take good care of it, I promise," she'd always say, several times a week.

I don't care for dogs. My parents had a couple of dogs when I was growing up but I never liked them. I was never interested in taking them for walks or spending much time with them. When one of our dogs, Jeremy, ran away, I was curious about what happened to him but never grieved his disappearance. I was sort of afraid that he got buried under a ton of snow and ice, after about 50 cm of the stuff came crashing off our roof during the spring thaw.

I was dreading the spring, when we'd find him after the snow melted. But fortunately, Jeremy never suffered that fate: he simply disappeared.

My family also liked to keep cats and I had a bond with them. And when DW and I moved in together, we started getting cats and have always had at least one in the house ever since.

When Kid 2 knew that no matter how hard she pleaded, we weren't going to get a dog, she asked if she could have a cat. It would be her cat, and when she grew older and moved out of the house, her cat would come with her.

We already had a cat—Edwin—but felt another cat would be fine, so we went to the Ottawa Humane Society to pick out a cat. It was there that Kid 2 found a kitten that perfectly matched her preferred breed: a torbie. The two of them instantly bonded.

But there was a problem. This torbie had some health issues and the Humane Society was awaiting test results to see if the kitten's issues would be bad enough that they'd have to put it down.

Kid 2 was devastated at the news and broke down in tears. But while we were trying to console her, someone had found the test results and the news was good. The kitty was cleared for adoption.

We took her home that day.

Lily and Edwin got along very well. Lily was energetic and loved to play, and Edwin took her playful sneak attacks with no problem. And when Camille came along, a few months later, the three cats had a lot of fun together.

When Kid 2 went to Toronto for university, in 2021, Lily went along but things didn't go well. Being in residence at the U of T, Lily was confined to a small space with lots of unfamiliar noises. Kid 2 would be in class or practicing her drums in a studio, or out socializing with friends.

Lily went a bit squirrely, feeling confined to a small space. Kid 2 would take Lily outside, on a leash, but the noise of downtown Toronto was overwhelming.

Lily developed some behavioural problems that had her sometimes peeing in spots that weren't her litter box. Kid 2 would tell us of her frustrations with having to constantly wash clothes or bedsheets that Lily had peed on.

Things seemed to get better when Kid 2 moved into a shared apartment, with lots of room to explore and with roommates that seemed to love Lily almost as much as Kid 2 did. And the peeing stopped.

Last year, the peeing started again and Kid 2 couldn't figure out why. She had moved three times since she lived in residence at U of T and Lily seemed to take it in stride. But toward the end of summer, Lily started peeing in random places again.

Kid 2 had plans to move in December so asked if we could take Lily back for a few months, until she was settled in her new place. It was nice to have Lily back home and our three cats—Camille, Cece, and Finn—loved having her around.

Lily and Finn

The entire time that Lily was home, she seemed to cling to me. She would hop on my lap while I was at my desk; she'd see me moving toward a sofa for my afternoon tap and would be on my chest, close to my face, before I was even settled; and, in the evenings, she'd be back on my lap when DW and I watched TV.

For the nearly four months that Lily was back home, she never peed anywhere but in her litter box.

A few weeks after Kid 2 moved into her current apartment, I brought Lily back to her. Lily was curious, checking out all of the new spaces. And she seemed happy to be back with Kid 2, who had missed her cat terribly.

Last month, the peeing started again. Even with her litter box close by, she'd go to a nearby corner—sometimes looking straight at Kid 2—and whiz.

Kid 2 has tried a few things. She has kept her room clean. She has moved the litter box to other spots in her apartment, but Lily still pees where she's not supposed to.

"Maybe she's happier with you," Kid 2 sobbed. She didn't have any friends who were willing to look after Lily and she didn't know what she'd do if Lily peed at her friend's place. Plus, it felt weird having Lily stay with a friend but still be considered her cat.

So tomorrow, I'm making the drive to Toronto to retrieve Lily. It will be a sad day for Kid 2, a sad parting for both of them. But at least Kid 2 knows Lily will be well cared for and with cats she knows.

"You'll just have to come home more often," I said to Kid 2 when I agreed to pick up Lily. "She'll always be your cat."

Fingers crossed that Lily stops peeing outside of her box when she returns home.