Two cat situation

Posted on September 3, 2025

Just out of curiosity, I sent an inquiry to my first cat’s foster parent to see if there were any cats that she was fostering that she thought may get along well with Willow whom I adopted a few months ago. To my great surprise, she said yes, she had a cat around the same age who’s also declawed and he could potentially be a good fit for Willow. I went to meet him and adopted him a few days later.

Wow! Talk about your different personalities! Willow is shy, timid and cautious and it’s taking a while to get to know each other. However, the new tabby has made himself at home very quickly! It’s only the second day and he’s already on my couch purring away while laying on his back with his feet up in the air. I know every cat is unique but talk about your polar opposites!

This tabby cat has a distinctive meow that is very loud and very deep for a cat. It’s also a little scratchy sounding. He seems so different than he was when I picked him up from his foster home. He seems even more outgoing and relaxed, as well as more affectionate. I wonder what the cat thinks about this new situation and setting. Is he happy about the fact that he was transferred to a new home or does he have mixed feelings? So far he seems pretty happy but who knows as it’s tough to know what an animal is really thinking.

I know Willow doesn’t feel very good about this right now. She’s hiding underneath the bed even though the bedroom door is closed so the two cats can get used to each other’s smell while being in separate rooms. I’m hoping that within the next two weeks, she can adjust and get used to the new tabby cat.

I keep thinking and asking myself: Am I doing the right thing for Willow whom I adopted first? I truly hope so but I don’t know. Am I being selfish by having both of these cats or am I doing a good thing?  I guess that kind of depends on who I ask and how I ask.

I often find it hard to be able to be confident in my own decisions and decision-making skills even though I’m middle-aged. I think that’s oftentimes people, whether they have a disability or not, question their own decisions. They may second-guess themselves, wondering if they’ve done the right or wrong thing.

I don’t know that there’s any real right or wrong answer that you can confidently take a measuring stick and say, “Hey, this is the right thing to do” or “this is the wrong thing to do.” I do know that the more people I ask about a situation, the more confused I often get. Maybe in the future I will only ask just one or two people at most so I have less opinions to work through other than my own. The biggest thing I have to keep in mind is that it’s my life and I have to live with the consequences of any decisions I make regardless of what anybody else says or thinks. It is my life and I need to be comfortable with my decisions.

Have you ever had a question or a decision to make that was complicated and you didn’t know what to do? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by a decision you had to make? How did you feel after you made that difficult decision?