It's hard because they are like family. My friend Reta has always had such a hard time when hers have gone, but she always goes and finds another to adopt. She's helped save a lot of kitties
I have noticed a change in Ella's reaction to squirrels. When she sees a bird or a small rodent, she assumes a predatory stance. Her head locks into place as she fixes her stare on her prey, then she will begin making a chirping noise that comes from excitement, I suppose. She will be perfectly still, except for a twitching of her tail. She used to do that for squirrels as well, but over the summer that seems to have changed. I don't know if she got her butt kicked by a squirrel or if they have otherwise reached an understanding, but she doesn't seem to view them as prey any longer. She still has an interest in them and she will chase them when she sees them outside, but it seems more like she's trying to annoy them rather than to actually catch them. Once she has chased one up a tree, she will park herself at the base of the tree, while the squirrel scolds here. Often, the squirrels will come down closer to her so be sure that she can hear them.
Ella has finally figured out that it's winter. Prior to today, she would beg to go out repeatedly throughout the day, only to find that it was cold and there was snow on the ground. Today, she has made no such requests, and when I held the door and asked her if she wanted to go out, she walked away from me.
She's not stupid. Pickles won't even go out in the rain. He goes on the covered patio. i kind of wish he would go there all the time, easier to clean than the grass and no brown spots.
I think it takes them a while to figure out what the people in their lives can control and what they can't. Sometimes, she would get to the door and, finding that it was raining or snowing, she'd look up at me as if to ask if I could just shut it off, as she has no doubt seen me turn water faucets on and off in the house, heaters on and off, etc.
Pickles has things figured out. Here I let him out only in the back through the sliding door. At my daughter's house he goes out the side patio door if it's not raining but through the dining room patio door if it is because that's got a slight cover over it. He seems to know when it's raining and heads to the appropriate door....he'll do anything to avoid discomfort.
I took my California cat home to Michigan with me for Christmas one year while my dad was still alive. My poor cat had never seen snow in his life, and that was a cold Christmas. Once he got adjusted to my dad's house, he began asking to go out. When I opened the front door for him, he'd run out, stand there for a while and come back in, looking dejected. A few minutes later, he'd want to go out the back door, sure that things would be much better out back.
Pickles has never seen snow but I'd be willing to bet my life on the fact that he would hate it. He doesn't even like walking on a cold tile floor. When we make him do a trick for a treat, if he's on tile, if you say sit...he'll get to about a 1/4 inch of his butt touching the cold floor.
I just spent about four productive hours doing nothing. You'd have to know Lydia in order to appreciate the significance, but she has never been a cat who appreciated spending quality time with me, or anyone. Oh, she can be playful but she would almost never initiate anything that even remotely resembled affection. If I would pick her up and make her sit with me on the couch, or spend time in bed with me, she would generally be polite and act like she was enjoying it, but then tactfully excuse herself at the earliest opportunity. Today, I was on the couch intending to simply finish a cup of coffee while talking to my wife, who was doing something or another. Lydia came up by me, and seemed to want to be petted. I petted her and she was loving it. At 27, and feeble, it's hard to pet her because she is stiff, bony, and fragile. But I petted her, and she was purring. Then she fell asleep next to me on the couch. So I stayed. She would wake up every now and then to poke at me for some more petting, or rubbing the side of her head, etc. After nearly four hours of it, I had to be the one to politely excuse myself because I was hurting from being in the same position for too long, and I felt bad about leaving because it seemed like she was wanting all of her time at once. Her sister, Cutie, gets her time at night, as she usually lies next to me at least part of the night, plus she will bring bring me toys as a way of asking for my time during the day. She has never had any trouble asking for time, and will usually run off any other cat that might be competing with her for it. Lydia has always acted like she really didn't need anything from anyone. When she was younger, she would sometimes spend the whole night lying under our neighbor's boat. So it was kind of nice being able to hang out with her. She won't be with me much longer.
A lot of pets can actually sense and feel when the humans they love are not feeling well, or have some kind of health problem and they tend to come and "nurse' and comfort the humans they love during those times. It is also possible that because she is getting so old and I'm sure having health problems of her own, that she may be needing that same care and comfort from you now.
I have a dancing kitty and I don't think Ella likes it very much. Later, when it was quiet and the kitty wasn't dancing, Ellla snuck up to my desk and slapped my remote. She's pretty good at putting connections together.
My wife gave me a Pet Cube Play, which will allow me to talk to my cats, see them if they are within range of the cube, and even play laser chase with them when I am away. I don't know that this will impress Cutie or Lydia at all, but I am thinking it will get Ella involved. Cutie doesn't hear very well anymore so I don't know that she will be able to hear be, but I know she recognized voices before, so I am sure Ella will. I haven't used it or set it up yet but am looking forward to it. I control it through an iPhone app.