Living with a senior cat

As many of you out there know, my mom recently rescued my new brother, Odin. He is an old cat. I am a young cat. This has caused some problems.

Mom is always reminding me that Odin is old. Sometimes I just think he is lazy, but mom says that is not the case. She tells me that old kitties are not as fast, and do not like to play as much. Especially old, blind kitties. I try to get him to play sometimes. I will lay on the kitchen chairs and tap his ear, or try and catch his tail when he lays in the window and let's it dangle over. Usually this results in Odin swatting me, sometimes with a claw (me-oooow!), and mom has to yell at me to leave Odin alone. I just think Odin needs to stop being cranky and lazy.

One thing that I have learned about old cats is that they get to poop on the floor. It is a double standard, I tell you, because when I was a kitten and pooped on the floor mom got real mad. Odin, however, gets praised when he poops on the floor. Mom even puts these special blankets down for him to use. Mom says it is because he cannot get into the box, but he seemed to sleep in my box perfectly fine the first night he came home. I do try to show him how to use the box - I poop in his all the time just so he will get the idea. He still seems clueless, and continues to poop on his special blankets on the floor that mom calls "Odin pads."

Odin is not allowed outside of the bathroom or kitchen. I've heard mom tell him it is because he has had "accidents" too often on the carpet. Mom REALLY hates when that happens. At night he gets to sleep in his own room, and I have to share mine with mom, dad, and my sister Bruin. We all share a bed even (mom likes to hog my spot a lot), and Odin gets a room all to himself. We also now have these tall plastic things that block our doors. I can jump over them, and Bruin could if she wanted to (which is not often), but Odin just sits in front of them. Mom says old kitties don't jump like young kitties do. I think he is giving up too easily. I have been told that these "gates" are to remind Odin that he cannot go into those rooms.

I don't mind having an old cat for a brother. He is nice to relax with, which we do together a lot. Life with an old cat is different, but not bad. I'm enjoying it.