Really missing the feel of a cat but no more . Husband says I'm just brooding

[JazzyJogger]

This will be a first Christmas without a cat for over 40 years . Our 18 year old passed away earlier this year . I miss him . I miss the feel of a cat on my lap , kissing his little head . Husband thinks I'm over reacting. I think he thinks I want another one , but no we're too old now and a cat is a 20 year commitment. Fostering is out of the question as we now live near a main road . I guess I'm grieving.

Hubby says he misses the cat but he's over him . He thinks I'm brooding . I think I'm grieving . I think men get over stuff like this quicker , put it in a box and put it on a shelf .

I’m so sorry. But fostering might not be out of the question. The rescue I foster for stipulate that foster cats need to be kept inside unless the fosterer has a secure outside space. Maybe it’s worth asking your local rescues?

Fosterers don’t let their cats outside at all, do they? You can definitely foster. Could you adopt an older indoor cat?

https://www.catchat.org/index.php will tell you about rescues in your area. Following @Rocknrolla21’s suggestion, I bet loads of them will have older cats or cats who are absolutely fine but have to stay indoors for medical reasons, who are constantly overlooked in favour of cute kittens.

My mum has just lost her cat (was actually mine but he was terrified of dd1 so mum took him). She took in another cat a few months ago that was abandoned by the French holiday home owners along the road, it's scared of everything so definitely not a lap cat by any means.

this post got me, knowing how much mum will miss that love.

I'm so sorry

No as I don't think I could go through the pain of losing them . Plus we have health problems .

Totally get it. I've had cats my whole life but when one of my old boys died I was temporarily 'cat less' and the whole house just felt wrong. I didn't think I could do it again but I did and now I will never not have a cat.

In your position I would look at rehoming an elderly one or fostering. My cats are indoors and they do fine, older cats do come with health issues I know but also are the least likely to be adopted from shelters and I like to think I could give one a nice couple of years, even if I couldn't make the 15-30 year commitment a kitten needs. It's worth thinking about anyway. But either way, the grief and sense of loss is very real.

The rescue I volunteer at would be happy to let you adopt, we have some lovely cats that would have to be indoor only for various reasons. The only thing we ask with older adopters is that they have made a plan for someone to take the cat if they pass away or become too ill to care for them. We would of course offer rescue back up if needed.