Yesterday’s post was hard. I know I ended it abruptly but man, losing Eme was heartbreaking. I keep hearing noises around the house. I turn around and expect her to boss me around to get her nourishment or let her out. But, she’s not here.

After losing Eme, I started making plans for Opie. I poured over Airstream plans to see where a litter box would fit. I have been researching collars and leashes for cats. My plan has been that Opie is going with us. I can’t imagine him getting sick and not being there. Nathan has been a good sport about it. There are some worries. While Magda and Opie have been getting along better over the past few weeks, Opie has to have space apart from Magda. Opie tolerates sleeping Magda well. He doesn’t tolerate playful Magda. I can understand why. Magda is 90 pounds and towers over Opie.

And the biggest worry of all…

When I took my poke-in-the-back-100-times allergy test, I found out that my three biggest allergens are: 1. dust; 2. all Oklahoma trees, grass, native flowers, and 3. cats. Yep, the doctor said that I had to find a new home for my cats immediately, if I wanted to get better. This was more than two years ago and I obviously have completely ignored her advice. But, my health has suffered for it. I have done what I can to minimize my exposure to Opie and Eme. I have air purifiers in the bedroom and throughout the house. I have to wash my hands and not touch my face after touching a cat. Opie is not allowed to sleep in our bed. I wash our bedding once a week to help reduce any possibility that Opie snuck in and took a nap (yep, his favorite thing to do and he does it all the time). We had a housekeeper come in and dust and vacuum, which really helped as well.

Living with a cat in a 1,600 square foot home is more work, but I made a promise when I adoped Opie and Eme that I would take care of them for the rest of their lives. I told my best friend about my plans. She helped me see that a good part of our plans and reason we will be traveling is to help improve my health. Squeezing Opie into a 200 square foot trailer would not only be miserable for him but miserable for me (and there by Nathan) too. Opie would have no place to hide from Magda when he needs alone time. Opie has never been on a leash. Opie hates car rides, so subjecting him to travel weekly would be unfair. There would be no way to keep Opie off the bed and we won’t be able to wash our bedding as regularly as we do now.

So, my best friend is right. I need to rehome Opie. I don’t want to but I need to do it. I would like to find him the right home. I owe it to him. I would love if whomever adopted him would send us regular updates on how he’s doing. He will come with an automatic litter box, scratching post, food storage container with attached bowl. He isn’t on a special diet and just had all of his shots. He’s pretty low maintenance. He has been an indoor/outdoor cat but as he has gotten older more indoor than outdoor. He loves people and is a love bug. He gets along great with children and other animals.

He does look kinda funny right now. I had to have him shaved. Adventurous spirit that he is, he got into some sap and became matted along his back but it’s starting to grow back. He is a beautiful, sweet cat that loves to sit in laps, be petted and sleep bomb you.  Contact one of us if you have our phone number or Facebook if you don’t. We have to find a home for him by the end of April.

X Grace