Cativersary

This piece was originally published at Navigator, Equator

Four months ago at this moment, I was picking fleas out of Nora’s butthole. That was my first motherly act towards her.

Mike had been in the right place at the right time, when a woman entered the cafe where he had been studying, with a kitten cradled in her arms that she had found under a car in the parking lot. The woman was late for work, so Mike wrapped her in a t-shirt and drove her to his vet, which was only a few miles away. She was so tiny and scared, and swarming with fleas.

I was at work at X’s to O’s Vegan Bakery when Mike texted her picture to me. “Want a kitten?”, he asked. He was mostly joking, and I didn’t think about it seriously at first; Pippi has never gotten along with other cats and I hadn’t been planning to add another cat to our family in Pippi’s lifetime. But the more I looked at the picture and thought about it, the more it felt right.

“Yes.”

The folks at Sand Creek Animal Hospital took such great care of her until I was able to pick her up. They fed her and treated her flea problem. You wouldn’t even believe the amount of fleas.

Bringing her home was scary. I have lived with Pippi for 8 years, and she is the love of my life. I didn’t know how this kitten would change the dynamic between Pippi and I. I didn’t know if I could ever love this kitten as much as I loved Pippi. I didn’t know if I wanted to.

But as I sat on the edge of my tub, carefully grooming her with the flea-comb, and feeling her little bony legs shiver in my hands, I palpably felt my heart open to her.

The first few months were hard. I have lived with a lot of kittens in my life, but never with one who had so much energy, strength, and naughtiness. All summer, my legs were shredded from constant attacks. For a while there, I didn’t know if I would be able to keep her. Physically and emotionally it was just too painful. But we were patient with each other as she learned to not be a vicious tiger and I learned how to roughhouse with her and help her release her kitten energy without getting hurt.

Today is Nora’s 4-Month Forever Home Cativersary. She has tripled in size and weight, and is filling out to be such a typical huge and muscular Maine Coon. Pippi and I are both so chill and quiet; Nora adds an energetic playfulness to our home that I didn’t even know we were missing.

Happy Cativersary, you sweet and ferocious monster. Here’s to many more.

Feline Friendships

It’s no secret that I love cats more than I love most humans.

Cats and I understand each other, and I am often able to bond with cats that are known to be mean, shy, or scared of humans. When I lived in Pensacola, FL, there was a tribe of strays that lived under my house. They had been there for several generations and were terrified of and aggressive toward my roommates and neighbors. Despite all odds being stacked against it, one of the kittens, Lil’ Stripey, and I became friends. First, she sat with me on the porch while I wrote letters. Then she let me scratch her back. Then she was sneaking through my window at night to sleep on the edge of my bed.

My oldest cat, Pippi, has been with me for eight years. My friend’s mom found her and her sister, Maru, in the woods when they were tiny babies. It’s a miracle they survived. Pip had always been anti-social and spent her days avoiding everyone by sleeping under a desk in a home office. Maru, who is social and “aggressively friendly”, bonded with the family while Pippi became known as a boring grouch. When Pippi was six years old, my friend and I moved in together, and the cats moved in too. I coaxed Pip out of her shell and she has stolen my heart like no other cat ever has. This cat who was known for being grouchy and boring for six years was actually so sweet, loving, playful, and hilarious.

Nora was a surprise; I didn’t even know she existed until about four hours before she came to live with me. She was found in a Starbucks parking lot, next to a 4-lane highway, hiding under a car and covered in fleas. Like Pippi, it was a miracle she was alive. Living with a kitten has been a challenge. She is ultra-high energy, playful in a way that is often painful, and anything left on a low shelf (or, these days, any shelf lower than her 5-foot jumping height) will either be knocked off, eaten, or shredded. Sometimes knocked off, eaten, and shredded. But the 10 minutes a day when she is sleepy and cuddly are worth the frustration. She has added such a necessary youthfulness to this house.

There is a lot that I have to say about cats. I have stories to tell, and advice and tips to share. I’m excited to have a blog devoted to these sweet and sassy creatures.

Once a week I volunteer at Whiskers Animal Benevolent League, a cat rescue here in Albany, NY. If you have a moment and a few bucks to spare, this is a great place and any contribution would help so many cats. If you live locally, consider volunteering some time weekly or monthly. Just two hours of your time can make such a difference.