I’ve met mini-human beans who eat peas and carrots gamely enough…so long as they can eat around the peas. I know folks who will eat cake…so long as they can fastidiously dissect out any icing.
But when it comes to feline Dessert Kids, some things just can’t be separated, because some bonds are everlasting.
Dessert boys Trifle and Strudel were at the gooey heart of a recent dilemma. It turns out a very nice gentleman has had his eye on Trifle for quite some time. This nice gentleman has followed all of our brown tabby’s ups and downs, cheering his victories and especially his blooming snuggliness. And, now, the time was right for the nice gentleman to ask: might he be considered for adopting Trifle?
My first reaction was a gleeful Absolutely!!
But immediately I remembered. You can’t have the moon without stars, or Jersey without tomatoes, or Trifle without Strudel.
And the nice gentleman wanted Trifle…without Strudel. More to the point, he was only in a position to adopt one cat, and Trifle had his heart.
But Trifle’s heart already belonged to his little buddy, the big-eyed boy who’d been with him through hoarding and schizophrenic friends and the exit of their sisters.
While Trifle cherishes Strudel, it’s bashful Strudel who utterly needs Trifle. Trifle was always one of the boldest Dessert Kids, and at this point he has abandoned all fear in Suite B. Content to hang with just about any cat and to accept adoration from any human, Trifle is deeply, gloriously at ease.
Strudel has also made progress of earth-shattering magnitude. It’s now a regular treat to pet him, and a special joy to see this once-trembling angel-faced boy losing his inhibitions in pursuit of a wand toy.
But I’m convinced that, like humans, cats each have their own basic temperament, and Strudel’s will always be a scosh…well, neurotic. (This is by no means a criticism of Strudel; after all, it takes one to know one. 😉 ) A little more anxious and a little more hesitant than his big bro, Strudel scrambles after Trifle wherever he goes, shouting from tip to tail, Wait for me, where ya goin’?
It’s a little bit of a Gilligan/Skipper relationship, actually. And, truth be told, I think our brave Skipper needs his little buddy just as much as the other way around.
So back to the nice gentleman. With a sigh but certainty that we were doing right, I confessed that we couldn’t split this part of the menu. The Dessert boys are simply too bonded, too glued at the heart, to ever wrench apart. If that delays their adoption, so be it. They’ve certainly waited long enough for the peace and the glee they’re living now, and they deserve a future together.
Being both nice and gentlemanly, the nice gentleman understood completely. Perhaps at some point his circumstances will change, and both Strudel and Trifle can join his family. Or, perhaps, there’s a door yet to open in front of them.
It will be exciting to find out.
In the meantime, I have peace in these boys’ togetherness. Just yesterday, I received a sweeter-than-pie assurance that we’d done the right thing. Upon walking into Suite B, I saw Strudel looking strangely enormous, and curled into a rather awkward position. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t Strudel – not just Strudel, anyway. Wrapped around him like a security blanket was his guardian-best friend, Trifle. Strudel rested his head on Trifle’s back like a big, striped pillow. With Trifle so near, Strudel’s expression was pure trust, complete rest.
Everlasting bonds indeed.
While I’m sad that a forever home was passed up, I’m THRILLED that you didn’t break up these special kitties. With all they’ve been through already, I’m glad they won’t be parted as well. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
It’s ashame that a forever home had to be given up, but in the long term it will turn out to be the correct decision for the two of them. Angela, I think this was a case of having to think with your heart not your head and you’ve done good.
I am so glad that these two are going to remain together! Having worked with them for so long now, I can honestly say that they are one spirit. Strudel definitely looks to Trifle for support and reassurance and Trifle would always worry about his “little buddy”. I have seen them snuggle together often and it is really the cutest thing. When I work with Trifle, Strudel watches from the cat tree and when I work with Strudel (always in the cat tree!), Trifle comes over and wants to make sure that I am treating Strudel right. I love watching them together and I am so happy that you made the decision to keep them together. They deserve the love and comfort of each other after all that they’ve been through. I hope they don’t have to wait much longer for their “together forever” home!
I’m certain you made the right decision. If ever there were Best Friends Forever, it’s Trifle and Strudel.
Stellar decision! Thank you, thank you, thank you for keeping these two little “bookends” together. I remember the days when no one could get near these two and spent many hours enticing them with treats and string toys to get them out from under the couch. Now it’s as simple as walking into the suite and saying, “Hello sweeties!” When someone at Tabby’s Place says, “It’s all about the cats,” it really IS. I’m proud to be a part of this family.
ditto to everything all of our blogger friends have said — and to you, Angela, thank you for your servant’s heart and for ALWAYS putting the cats first!