Simone is already gone and I am both sad and glad. My lungs were horrible yesterday. I was tight, congested and a little wheezy. Even Carol noticed how bad I sounded on the phone, so for that much, I am glad. 

She contacted Tom at work who Skyped me to say that she wanted to pick her up in the evening so that she didn’t have to sit in a carrier for too long tomorrow at Petco. I guess she is going to really look for someone like us who is older and where there is someone home a lot. 

Although it doesn’t cover the few hundred dollars we spent on her, she has agreed to give us $50 to take her stuff. I like knowing that this way Simone will have things that are familiar to her. I would also rather get a little money and get rid of the stuff than get nothing at all and be stuck with it. There are a few things that rats can use, but most of them would just sit here. The more of her belongings she takes, the more dander is removed from the house. 

Tom is going to fill me in on the details when he gets up, but I’m guessing she is spending the night at Carol’s house tonight. Carol bought the stuff not just so Simone could have it but also because she has many cats and is always in need of things for them. Simone was with us for six weeks and already I can see that the cat tower isn’t going to last her whole life. They really do tear things up with their teeth and claws. I noticed just yesterday that she’s been tearing up a piece of the carpet by the bookcase. 

I have such mixed emotions about her! Of course I will miss the little shit and I hope she is given to someone who will give her plenty of love and attention. I don’t know how cats think and feel. I don’t know if she’s depressed right now and wants to come back here or not. My guess is that she will be happy as long as she has someone around to give her the things she needs and wants. Cats don’t seem to be all that picky about who it is or where they are as long as they’re happy. 

I will definitely not miss all the noise she made. I have never met or heard of a cat that vocal. It wasn’t always a traditional “meow,” but these gurgling, groaning, moaning and squeaky-like sounds she would also make. It didn’t seem to matter what she was doing either. As long as she wasn’t eating or sleeping, she was probably meowing or whining in some form or another. It was extremely distracting and her constant clinginess and being underfoot was highly annoying. So was the stinky poo box. No matter how clean you keep it and no matter how many air cleaners you run, if you have a nose like mine, you still notice it. 

She got into everything and anything due to how easy cats can get around, and it was hard to really interact with her at times. I couldn’t just pat her and cuddle her because I had to watch out for getting bit or scratched since they think everything is a game.

However, I will miss the fun times we had. Simone was a very sweet, loving cat and probably one of the most beautiful cats I ever saw. She had a beautiful color pattern and I loved the feel of her soft silky fur. I hope she finds a very happy home! I will still miss some of the things that annoyed me. When I get up I like to be left alone for the first hour or so. I’m very slow to wake up. But the first thing she would do was run up to me and rub against me, get underfoot, and meow up a storm. So that’s one of the things I will miss but I won’t miss. As understanding as Tom is, I feel bad for him because he really came to love her, probably more than I did. 

Anyway, Carol took most of her things but couldn’t fit the perch in her car so she’s going to come back today. Meanwhile, I go back to being the one kind of pet mom I was meant to be… a proud rat mommy!