A Lonely Cat’s Tale: Bubba’s Long Night Without His Feline Friends

Bubba is having a difficult night.

I’m currently living with my great-aunt. Her house is split into an upper and a lower, with a basement. I’m staying in the basement, she lives in the lower, and my cousin is living in the upper. He has two cats, Peaches and Pie. Bubba is so lonely and so bored. We try to keep each other company the best we can. However, he really wants another cat as a friend.

We tried socializing, well my cousin tried to socialize him with his cat Pie. Peaches is very shy. Pie is more adventurous, but doesn’t trust other cats. They weren’t ever able to play together. But, I think it brought Bubba a lot of hope that there were two cats upstairs. He would sit and meow to them each night. When Pie would venture out of the upstairs apartment and go into the lower, he would patiently and respectfully watch Pie. He clearly liked having other cats around.

Well, my cousin left today for a road trip. A month-long road trip to the south of the US, near Arizona. He converted a small bus and grabbed a friend and they left, bringing Peaches & Pie with them. My cousin and his cats have been on about 2 or 3 road trips like this before, his friend hasn’t. Peaches & Pie do well on the road apparently. They hunker down and wait for the next stop patiently. I hope my cousin and his friend do just as well.

Bubba apparently does not do well with road trips, well… other cats going on road trips. He’s standing by their door, on the stairs, meowing these longing meows. I tried to explain that they left and they were on a road trip. When I said, “They’re gone,” his gaze darted to me in shock. I had to correct myself and reassure him that I meant they were gone temporarily.

I spent some time sitting on the stairs with him, consoling him. Reassuring him that Peaches & Pie are okay and that they’ll be home in a month. I told him that if he and I could get our own place, we could get a friend for him. It quieted him down for a bit, but now as I type this he’s back at the stairs meowing.

I’m back at the top of the stairs, sitting with him. We’re at the door, listening for any signs of motion. There are none. He’s pawing under the door just to double-check.

I don’t know if he understands, I think he does. I think he’s just wishing they would come back. All I know is that tonight is going to be a long night.

Now, he went down the stairs, leaving me alone at an empty apartment door. I think he’s meowing in the basement. Poor guy grieves hard. I’m going to keep consoling him, and pray that he and I get rest tonight.

Take care.