After Bruce the Amazing left us last February I swept up the last of the kitty litter, gave away his food and moved the living room furniture to a new configuration so that Ben and I no longer looked for his furry orange form curled in his favorite chair when we came down the stairs. After a suitable period of sadness and reflection on the years we shared with our cranky, lovable Brucie we settled into life without him. While it’s true our home felt a little empty Ben and I were enjoying not being responsible for a creature lacking opposable thumbs.

And then Tondu arrived.

The first time I saw Tondu, before I knew his name or that his purrs would soon be familiar, he was perched on the narrow edge outside of the railings around a patio two stories high at the back of the senior center where I teach yoga. Panther sleek, he was surveying his kingdom with fearless poise and confidence. I later learned he was the beloved feline companion of an older gentleman who was seriously ill.

Two weeks later Tondu moved in. 

He’s fourteen – the same age as Bruce when we first met him. Unlike Bruce, Tondu has a French passport. His human, before coming to Virginia two years ago, lived in France and bottle fed Tondu as a kitten after Tondu’s litter mates and mother died. Tondu and his human were inseparable. 

I didn’t meet Tondu until the day I brought him home and this so easily could have been a disastrous decision. But it’s been a wonderful decision for both Ben and I. And for Tondu, too.

Tondu’s personality is very different from our darling Brucie’s. Bruce loved being brushed. Tondu can’t tolerate it. Bruce loved eating the house plants and so they all had to be placed out of reach. Tondu could care less about the greenery around the house and on the porch. Bruce was not interested in jumping on tables and counters. Tondu has a four foot vertical leap. Bruce rolled his eyes at toys but loved his cat tree. Tondu ignores his cat tree but loves the little toy that arrived with it. Every evening he and I race up and down the stairs while he chases a grey little puff with a white string attached. I think it reminds him of his days as a mouser in France, when he was an indoor/outdoor kitty.

I know adopting seniors (cats, dogs or humans) comes with risks. I know we’ll be lucky to have him in our lives for as long as we had Bruce. I know that there will be health issues and decline and loss. Such is life. But Tondu has settled in and I am wrapped around his paw.