Monkey See, Monkey Do
Ellie adores CG. And some days that may even be an understatement.
From the day we brought Ellie into our home, we’ve seen her become CG’s little shadow. True to being a little sister, everywhere CG goes, Ellie goes — to the point of sometimes annoying him. If CG has found something interesting, you better believe Ellie is right there next to him. She just thinks he’s the coolest. (And he is!)
To be fair, CG has been quite patient with her. Most days, he doesn’t mind his shadow, in fact, he seems to like having her around. Other days, you can tell he’s annoyed, but removes himself from the situation without an issue — for example, if Ellie tries to join him on his favorite chair. Still other days, CG uses a little tough line to keep El in line.
Consequently, the two have an interesting relationship. They’re good buddies, and yet they aren’t totally dependent on one another. As much as Ellie loves CG, she also loves hanging out with me or Matt, and she’s excellent at finding other ways to amuse herself. It’s created a great dynamic in our home, and I’m eager to see how their relationship continues to grow over the years.
But for now, I absolutely love how she follows him around. It’s really so very sweet. To celebrate their relationship, I’ve pulled together this little photogallery. Here’s a look at my two grays — guess which one is the monkey!
Do your cats have a similar relationship? Does one tend to follow and learn from another? How does the one who’s being shadowed react to it?
Life with Cerebellar Hypoplasia Cats 
Such sweet kitties–I love the pictures. I wish I could have two, but I don’t think Dotty would like sharing my attention. She seems very happy the way things are.
Yes, that’s a great point. Both of ours can be attention hogs, which can make it difficult. Thankfully, Matt and I try to love each one-on-one, and then we switch!
Well I hope its just been a while I was thinking about it all lasting a lot longer in solitude
Ha! If only! Ficho, our non-CH cat thinks Poppie is a slob because he does not cover up his poo and does not wash himself very thoroughly. He does the job himself on occasion. Poppie either tolerates it or wacks at him. They do share food amicably. I think Ficho was hoping for more of a pal and he did not get one.
Aww – how long have you had them both? Maybe one day they’ll learn to accept one another!
So cute! I’d love to adopt a second cat eventually, but I’m worried about Mimosa’s reaction. Don’t know if she’d love a friend of hate one or if it would depend on the cat we chose. Hopefully they would be like CG and Ellie!
That was our issue. Poppie had our attention as an only cat while we were in Kabul and then we brought him back to the US to meet our other cat. I kind of knew this would be an problem as Poppie did not like cats coming into the garden, etc. in Kabul. Ficho was always a social cat. It’s been years and they now have some sort of co-existence like Greece and Turkey. I think Ellie and CG were much younger when they started and that’s the key. Or maybe one of them has to be much younger and less dominant. They are adorable, aren’t they?
New would never know they weren’t bio siblings if mew just saw the photos, they look like they could have been from the same litter! CG is a sweet mancat to be so patient with his little sis. Mewz family is beautiful and so loving, what lucky kitties to have such pawesome parents. 💜💗
I was thinking it would definitely be best to get another CH cat. Volunteering at the local shelter, I always see other cats I’d love to take home, but I’m afraid Mimosa would feel bad when she sees them doing all the things she can’t (jumping & going places she is unable to). I also thought it may be best to get a smaller/younger CH cat so Mimosa doesn’t feel threatened? (Although so many older ones need homes too!) Someone at shelter also mentioned maybe a male cat instead, so Mimosa doesn’t feel threatened by another female but I have no idea if that is legitimate or not. Does anyone agree/disagree with those two suggestions?
Hi Lauren –
I know what you mean. It was a big decision when we decided to adopt Ellie. We wanted to make sure we got the right cat for CG – so he wouldn’t feel unloved or replaced, and so he’d have a buddy, etc.
Perhaps you can chat with the folks at the shelter to see what they think. Tell them about Mimosa and her personality – they may be able to think of a good fit. Another idea too, would be to adopt another CHer 🙂
In my experience, a male/female mix is good, but in the end, I think a cat’s personality means more than his/her gender. That may mean that you can adopt a cat (male or female) with a passive personality, or one that would work well with Mimosa.
I don’t know if this helps at all, but I think at some point you’ll just know. That said, it can take them a while to adjust to one another, of course, which is something else to take into account, too.
My 9 other cats seem to sense that my little Millie, although she may walk, run or climb a bit differently, plans on going wherever they go! Sometimes it may take her several tries but she keeps trying til she accomplishes her goal. Two of the cats (Thomas and Sasha) will actually stop and wait on her if she falls or lags behind.
That’s so sweet! I love that Millie likes to tag along, and that Thomas and Sasha are so thoughtful. What a sweet bunch of kitties you have!
Yes! I have 2 CH cats (5 cats total) and Amber, (mild CH) has a similar relationship with Wesley! She follows him around, snuggles with him and starts purring if he’s in her line of sight. He is generally annoyed by this. It seems like he is more likely to snuggle with her if no one is around, almost like he’s embarrassed by her love (lol). My other CH girl, Violet (she has severe CH), is a loner and prefers the attention of my boyfriend. She’s demanding and asks to come up and sit on his lap for hours at a time.
That’s just it! I think CG is embarrassed by Ellie too — but he still loves her 🙂 Would love to hear more about Amber and Wesley sometime!