About a month ago I did something I never thought I would do.
I excitedly purchased a kitten.
I have always been a dog person, mainly because I am from a dog family. My sister went through a cat phase but living on a busy road it did not end well for the poor guy.
As a child I had a kitten which turned into a cat and meowed loudly and left mice heads in my shoes and was far from a joy.
When I was 14 I got a chihuahua, after two years of nagging my poor parents, and it was love at first sight. There’s just something absolutely wonderful about coming home to a dog and them greeting you with a wag of the tail. They make splendid walking companions – I’ll admit Charlie the Chihuahua fell short in this category but being a dog family we had another five to pick from for walkies. They are the perfect nap buddies and they don’t have sharp claws or a penchant for scratching walls.
Cats on the other hand always seems a little selfish, they would come for feeding and petting but always on their terms and when they were done they would bite you and leave, swishing their tail arrogantly as they left.
When I moved over, Rus promised me a dog. Unfortunately he didn’t think to check with his parents who weren’t exactly over keen on the idea. I also got to thinking about the time commitment. Right now I have nothing but free time, but by the end of the year, if not sooner, I would like to be working again and it would be cruel to leave a dog used to 24/7 attention on his own.
So no california dog for me.
One night Rus suggested I get a kitten. I made a face and said no thank you. In his attempts to persuade me he took me to shelters and showed me ads on craigslist but I still struggled to get excited about it.
Then I saw an advert for Billy. He was born on the streets and then found by the pound. He was next in line for the Lethal Injection when he was recused. Unfortunately his mum wasn’t so lucky and the rescuer had to hand rear him. The ad was asking for someone with the time to pour into helping a skitty, nervous cat.
He was described as a suspected Main Coon mouthbreather who’s tongue shoots out when he sneezes. His picture was adorable.
I made the call and found out all about him. I wasn’t a cat person admittedly but something about this guy made me want to try. There are so many animals in this country who are put to death because we decide they’re overpopulating the streets, why shouldn’t I save one? I could grow to be a cat person perhaps, I could play with yarn.
Just so long as I didn’t have to deal with mice heads in my shoes.
We collected Billy a month ago and I fell in love with him instantly. He spent his first week hiding under the sofa, running out to eat and use the toilet when we weren’t in the room. Slowly he’s got used to me, as I have to him. He sits and watched soaps with me, joins in on skype calls and loves playing fetch. He’s happy to cuddle but more than happy to be left alone with his toys and food.
My family are all very shocked at choosing a cat but right now I’m struggling to think why I wanted a dog in the first place.
Flop! 