This has been something I've been thinking about doing since graduating college, but I've always told myself that I can't take on the responsibility of caring for someone else when I don't know what my own future might look like. I almost put things off until August, when my contract is up for renewal, because of this reasoning. But, realistically, I would have just kept finding reasons to put it off. I'm in a more stable position than I have ever been before. It's just time to take a jump.
I got him from a cat rescue organization focused on Kitchener called Pet Patrol. A couple of friends of mine have gone through this organization. They're based in Wallenstein, which is a small town outside of my city. When I called them, the person in charge asked me what I do for a living. I told her that I'm a facilitator at WALES. Turns out, she used to work in the school that WALES used to be based in, and she knows my current boss.
I had a lot of difficulty organizing transportation. Eventually, I just posted "Who wants to help me adopt a cat?" on Facebook. I got three offers inside a half hour.
I went with an old College friend named Rob (he's in the second photo). My roommate, (in the background of the third photo) came along as well, because it's important that, if we're both going to live with a cat, that they get along with both of us.
I eventually went with a one-year-old grey tabby named Kieren. When I met him, he climbed onto me and held me around the neck and wouldn't let go. I figured he's made a decision. They say the cat chooses you.
I don't know how I feel about cats with human names, but I'd feel bad renaming him. Besides, I'm terrible at naming things anyway. He's got a bump on his head that Pet Patrol was initially worried about, but apparently it's just bone. They think he may have injured himself as a stray, and it filled in thicker. Regardless, he's got a thick skull and goes around headbutting things, and this reminds me of a pachycephalosaurus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachycephalosaurus
So if I was going to name him, it might be based on that. But it's too long, so it would have to be a short form... and then I realized how unfortunate a short form of that name would be, when my roommate is from Pakistan.
Anyway, Kiren's been nothing but pure love. All he wants to do is cuddle, and he follows me all over the house. Every day, I wake up with him curled up next to my head, but when my alarm goes off he bats at me until I get up. He gets along great with my roommate's son and the neighbour's kids.
His origin story is that he was found on the side of the road in a rural area, still very much a kitten. Other than a notch in one of his ears and a bump on his forehead, he doesn't show much of his rough past. So far he's never attempted to leave my townhouse, even though he bugs at me to open every door inside of it.
He won't eat wet food, for some reason. My mother's cats know exactly when they're getting their daily wet food and they live for it. Kieren just ignores it. He has also shown no appreciation for cat treats or even catnip. I wonder how that's even possible.
I've bought him a cat tree, one of those tracks with a ball that can be batted around, and a stick with a string that has some sparkling balls tied to it. So far, the favourite is the cat fishing rod, followed by the cat tree, followed by the track with the ball, which I paid $46 for and he broke it in a day
No comments:
Post a Comment