I am in misery

Abby adopted a boy cat from the Seattle Humane Society yesterday. He's seven years old and all black. The SHS called him Halloween, but we re-named him Lenny. Abby wanted to call him Lennon, but I thought that was weird and suggested Lenny. Also, Nicolle thought Abby was saying Lenin (she's weird, I know), so Lenny stuck. We tried out other names, but Lenny stuck. So, he's called Lenny.

When we first brought him in and set him up in Abby's room, Rory wanted into Abby's room so badly. She wanted to see the new arrival. She even stuck her paw under the door and tried moving the door. So, we opened up the door, I held on to Rory and Abby held on to Lenny and they saw each other from across Abby's room. Rory was clambering to get to him, but of course we didn't let her. Now, ever since she's seen Lenny, Rory's been moody and weird.

I don't know if getting another cat, especially a boy cat, was such a good idea. We originally went in to adopt Joey, but was told by the adoption specialist that Joey had to be an only cat. He was aggressive with other animals and was quite a tough alley cat. Remind you of anyone? I thought 'hey, perfect, Rory and Joey will both hate each other and they'll cancel each other out! no relationship, no problem'. But the adoption specialist didn't want us to risk it. So, no Joey.

We found Lenny in one of the cat condos, just chilling. He was very loving from the get go. Purring and trying to sit with us. So sweet. He wasn't phased by the other cats in the room with him. So we thought, this might be the cat. We brought him home. And now Rory is pissed.

I feel like a terrible pet parent for putting this stress on Rory. She's hissed at me at least three times and walks around like she's afraid to see what's around the corner. She won't walk past Abby's door to go into the bathroom. She hides in Nicolle's room or sits on the couch. She slept with me last night, which was a good sign, but she's afraid and more aggressive than normal. But, she doesn't want to play, isn't really eating, and won't even willingly eat her treats. She loves treats.

I know she's stressed out and this could all go away. But I don't like it. This isn't Rory. Rory is finally the dominate cat of the household and now she's reverting to bottom-of-the-food-chain-but-I'm-gonna-fight-my-way-to-the-top mode. I'm afraid of what she's going to do. And that goes from not eating and losing weight, to getting a UTI from not going to the bathroom, to excessive grooming, to being more aggressive.

We're going to get some felaway defusers and see if that helps. Rory has her own kitty nip toys and so does Lenny. I wash my hands after touching Lenny so Rory won't get mad at his smell. I will try my hardest not to visit him in Abby's room so Rory knows I love her the most. I will do all I can to make her comfortable and establish she is head of the household. She'll never be queen (that is Sassy's title), but she's prime minister of the house. And if all else fails, we'll go back to my mom's. Where she knows she's the bottom of the pack and likes to fight like she's not. Or, at the very least, in a year and a half we'll be living in our own place as I start grad school again. Just her and me. I think for the rest of her life it has to be just her and me. Unless, a kitty chooses us. Then we can take them in.

And you know what, it's weird and depressing to go to the Humane Society. I wanted to take all of the cats I met home. I cried last night about them when I was talking to my mom. She asked me why I was crying and I said it's because it's just so sad that these cats were given up. One cat we met was called Winnie. She was 12 and was given up because she housesoiled. One cat was called Chase. She was 10 and her owners surrendered her to be euthanized. Over a skin allergy. Chase was SO sweet. She was about Rory's size. But we knew Rory would be so mean to her. She was fragile like Sassy. And Nicolle would have hated Abby for picking a cat that was Sassy-like. I just want her to get adopted. I feel so guilty we couldn't take her. See - it's depressing to go to the Humane Society!

Plus it's weird to pick your cat. The only cats we've ever picked were Randy and Sassy. We found Randy via an ad for free cat to good home (the family rescued cats for a living) and we found Sassy at Petsmart's adoption center when we went to get Randy more Science Diet food. Randy and Sassy were fate. Nothing felt wrong about picking those two. But picking a cat the other day felt weird to me.

Maybe it's because we were in the kitty condos, where they keep a few cats together in a comfy room. You see more than one cat at a time because of that. Almost all want your attention. It's hard to give them all attention at one time. And it's hard when you have to leave them. And it's even harder when you have to leave with just one. And it's even, even harder when you leave with that one cat from the Humane Society and question if you've made the right choice. Not just about the cat, but about bringing that cat into a home with Rory. Time will tell, I know, but I'm just worried for Rory. I'm a worrisome pet parent.