Kitty Adventure!
I used to be scared of dogs when I was young and my dad had to return a pup he took in because I refused to walk on the floor, the pup kept wanting to lick my toes. Mind you, I was six back then and quite self-contained- thought the world revolved around me. So, fast forward to almost 20 years later, I have a pet dog and he is my favourite being in the world. I have always been the ‘awww it’s cute’ kinda person with animals and little kids. Not very much with little kids, since the teacher in me comes out more often than it should. Anyway, because I grew up with a dog, I am more dog-friendly than cat-friendly. I have no ill-feelings towards cats but my friend’s cat tried to attack me once. I've been edgy around cats ever since then. Also, the fact that my mum hates cats and has instilled in me that cats can sense that I am a dog person.
Coming back to the main point: I have this friend, L, right? He is a lil’ crazy over kitties. I didn’t know how crazy until we embarked on this journey. It was a weekday and he called up to ask if I wanna go on an adventure with him. Of course, I said ‘why not?’ So, the mission? We are gonna relocate a kitten!
Let me set the context for the mission: My friend met this girl from an online app and she has a cat that had recently miscarried. The cat was obviously very sad and this girl found a kitten from Brisbane to help the cat but she couldn’t come down to get the kitten, since she lives like an hour from Brisbane. She also finishes work at midnight, so we get to play with the kitty for a while if we help her. Now, when a kitty needs help, how can we say no? I was more than eager to go on any adventure at this point, so I went along with it.
To be honest: I think L just needed a cat holder, so he turned to me for help. I didn’t mind helping anyway. I was nervous about kitties and cats, I’ll tell you that. L didn’t know that! We went ahead and got the kitty from his home in the northern part of Brisbane. It is this cutest little black kitten with white paws. L got it from its owner and he was literally swooning over it the entire time, shaking every now and then in excitement. L tried to get me to hold the kitten while he drives but I was clearly putting on a brave mask as I held on to the kitty. The kitty probably realised I was nervous too because he kept crawling back onto L’s lap. We managed to navigate back to my house with the kitty on L’s lap most of the time. I was scared to even hold the kitty because seemingly if I hold it wrong, the kitty would vomit.
When we reached home, L helped the kitty to settle down on me and taught me a few simple ways to calm down the kitty. Also, we named him Blackie! Blackie was so fragile and woke up to the slightest movements, staring at you accusingly for interrupting his nap time. I was so scared to even breathe because he was settled right on top of my belly. I know, it was the cutest thing ever! I was slowly getting comfortable around Blackie.
Then, we went to L’s house to hang out for a couple more hours. I gave L all his sweet time with Blackie while I watched Netflix. L was so protective of Blackie and always gave me the ‘stop moving around’ stare because Blackie was so sensitive to movements.
L’s mum came home and lectured about how L is allergic to cats. When his mum started lecturing, I kept thinking to myself, ‘is she serious? L has been with Blackie for about 3 hours now and he is perfectly fine.’ When his mum left the room, it felt like that’s all it ever needed, a trigger; it was the beginning of his allergic reaction. For a moment, I felt really bad to have agreed to the adventure. Maybe I should have talked him out of it. I have sinusitis and I know how irritating it is when you can’t string a legible sentence together because you keep sneezing.
But that didn’t damper our excitement, we still played around with Blackie for some time using a shoelace, it’s a different play compared to dogs’ playtime. It was so funny and cute how easily cats are triggered, it was like watching a live silly cat video. We even tried to feed Blackie some milk but he was probably too young to drink it off a bowl. Blackie licked some milk off L’s finger but refuse to drink from the bowl and only ate small bits and pieces of food. L was so completely at ease but I keep feeling like we should do something more, like how could a kitten not want to drink or eat for the past 6 hours or so, right?
Or maybe that was just the foodie in me.
Then it was time to take the drive to E’s house to deliver Blackie. L had to take his allergic medication beforehand and it was midnight by the time we reached the girl’s house. I had a moment of panic when the girl didn’t reply to L the first five minutes. My mind raced to what I am going to do if it was a catfish after all. I must have been mixing too much with L because I, who trust people easily, was overcame with paranoia. I was thinking if I could raise a cat alone since L was allergic to cats, it is funny now that I think about it but back then, I was suppressing my panic reactions from L. Finally, E replied and took Blackie from us. I felt relieved, might sound mean but it was the only thing I felt when Blackie was claimed. We saw pictures of Blackie with his new mom and they look so much alike. Mission accomplished!
I was still making friends with L and for those who do not know, we had a rough start. L is different, albeit not very different from my usual group of friends. He does become depressed some time. It is perfectly normal and who would know it better than me, my best friend from back home is clinically diagnosed with depression. This adventure helped me understand L better and be a better friend. I was truly thinking maybe pet therapy is all he ever needed. He looked way happier than he was before, flashing more of his ‘Cheshire cat smile’ as he calls it. It’s not possible now since he is allergic to cats but cuddle sessions every now and then would definitely help him. Damn, I sound like a psychologist now and no, I don’t want to psycho-analyse anyone. I just want to be a nice person. I even saw how possessive he can be with his fixation. There was a point he said ‘the cat has as much right as I have in this room’ and I made a mental note to back off from there because it was a flaky ground and I didn’t want the tension to shatter a happy moment.
Personally, I love putting a smile on someone’s face but back home, I was asked to not be reckless and talk to strangers. It was just my upbringing and I felt oppressed when all I ever wanted was to be let free and do things that makes my heart happy. Random act of kindness keeps me happy, smiling at or greeting a passer-by keeps me happy. My parents don’t share the same view and it’s alright. It is just the world we live in nowadays and I have begun to accept it. That doesn’t stop me from being kind to people. Relocating the kitten has taught me life lessons, yes, I know I turn very philosophical frequently. I learnt how to ease around kittens, cats are a different story but I’ll get there eventually. And a fun fact! Apparently, cats can sense love out of your palm, according to L (he might have been crapping for all I know).
Extension to our little kitty adventure came about a week after that. We found this cat cuddle café right behind my house. We went there for one of the cuddle sessions. They have close to 20 cats in there and I was back to the nerve wreck I was before my adventure with Blackie. However, I took the courage and played around with the cats. Again, playtime with cats is like watching a live version of those YouTube videos I get tagged on Facebook. Our smartass friend, L, thought prevention is better than cure and took a couple of his medications before he even had his allergic reactions *rolls eye* so, by the time we finished our cuddle session, his best friend, Mr Sneeze, came for a visit. Thankfully, antihistamines are the same everywhere, he took some of my medicines.
That is the end of my kitty adventure for now but maybe there will be other different adventures in near future. Lately, we have been going on hotpot adventures if that counts for an adventure at all.
Coming back to the main point: I have this friend, L, right? He is a lil’ crazy over kitties. I didn’t know how crazy until we embarked on this journey. It was a weekday and he called up to ask if I wanna go on an adventure with him. Of course, I said ‘why not?’ So, the mission? We are gonna relocate a kitten!
Let me set the context for the mission: My friend met this girl from an online app and she has a cat that had recently miscarried. The cat was obviously very sad and this girl found a kitten from Brisbane to help the cat but she couldn’t come down to get the kitten, since she lives like an hour from Brisbane. She also finishes work at midnight, so we get to play with the kitty for a while if we help her. Now, when a kitty needs help, how can we say no? I was more than eager to go on any adventure at this point, so I went along with it.
To be honest: I think L just needed a cat holder, so he turned to me for help. I didn’t mind helping anyway. I was nervous about kitties and cats, I’ll tell you that. L didn’t know that! We went ahead and got the kitty from his home in the northern part of Brisbane. It is this cutest little black kitten with white paws. L got it from its owner and he was literally swooning over it the entire time, shaking every now and then in excitement. L tried to get me to hold the kitten while he drives but I was clearly putting on a brave mask as I held on to the kitty. The kitty probably realised I was nervous too because he kept crawling back onto L’s lap. We managed to navigate back to my house with the kitty on L’s lap most of the time. I was scared to even hold the kitty because seemingly if I hold it wrong, the kitty would vomit.
When we reached home, L helped the kitty to settle down on me and taught me a few simple ways to calm down the kitty. Also, we named him Blackie! Blackie was so fragile and woke up to the slightest movements, staring at you accusingly for interrupting his nap time. I was so scared to even breathe because he was settled right on top of my belly. I know, it was the cutest thing ever! I was slowly getting comfortable around Blackie.
Then, we went to L’s house to hang out for a couple more hours. I gave L all his sweet time with Blackie while I watched Netflix. L was so protective of Blackie and always gave me the ‘stop moving around’ stare because Blackie was so sensitive to movements.
L’s mum came home and lectured about how L is allergic to cats. When his mum started lecturing, I kept thinking to myself, ‘is she serious? L has been with Blackie for about 3 hours now and he is perfectly fine.’ When his mum left the room, it felt like that’s all it ever needed, a trigger; it was the beginning of his allergic reaction. For a moment, I felt really bad to have agreed to the adventure. Maybe I should have talked him out of it. I have sinusitis and I know how irritating it is when you can’t string a legible sentence together because you keep sneezing.
But that didn’t damper our excitement, we still played around with Blackie for some time using a shoelace, it’s a different play compared to dogs’ playtime. It was so funny and cute how easily cats are triggered, it was like watching a live silly cat video. We even tried to feed Blackie some milk but he was probably too young to drink it off a bowl. Blackie licked some milk off L’s finger but refuse to drink from the bowl and only ate small bits and pieces of food. L was so completely at ease but I keep feeling like we should do something more, like how could a kitten not want to drink or eat for the past 6 hours or so, right?
Or maybe that was just the foodie in me.
Then it was time to take the drive to E’s house to deliver Blackie. L had to take his allergic medication beforehand and it was midnight by the time we reached the girl’s house. I had a moment of panic when the girl didn’t reply to L the first five minutes. My mind raced to what I am going to do if it was a catfish after all. I must have been mixing too much with L because I, who trust people easily, was overcame with paranoia. I was thinking if I could raise a cat alone since L was allergic to cats, it is funny now that I think about it but back then, I was suppressing my panic reactions from L. Finally, E replied and took Blackie from us. I felt relieved, might sound mean but it was the only thing I felt when Blackie was claimed. We saw pictures of Blackie with his new mom and they look so much alike. Mission accomplished!
I was still making friends with L and for those who do not know, we had a rough start. L is different, albeit not very different from my usual group of friends. He does become depressed some time. It is perfectly normal and who would know it better than me, my best friend from back home is clinically diagnosed with depression. This adventure helped me understand L better and be a better friend. I was truly thinking maybe pet therapy is all he ever needed. He looked way happier than he was before, flashing more of his ‘Cheshire cat smile’ as he calls it. It’s not possible now since he is allergic to cats but cuddle sessions every now and then would definitely help him. Damn, I sound like a psychologist now and no, I don’t want to psycho-analyse anyone. I just want to be a nice person. I even saw how possessive he can be with his fixation. There was a point he said ‘the cat has as much right as I have in this room’ and I made a mental note to back off from there because it was a flaky ground and I didn’t want the tension to shatter a happy moment.
Personally, I love putting a smile on someone’s face but back home, I was asked to not be reckless and talk to strangers. It was just my upbringing and I felt oppressed when all I ever wanted was to be let free and do things that makes my heart happy. Random act of kindness keeps me happy, smiling at or greeting a passer-by keeps me happy. My parents don’t share the same view and it’s alright. It is just the world we live in nowadays and I have begun to accept it. That doesn’t stop me from being kind to people. Relocating the kitten has taught me life lessons, yes, I know I turn very philosophical frequently. I learnt how to ease around kittens, cats are a different story but I’ll get there eventually. And a fun fact! Apparently, cats can sense love out of your palm, according to L (he might have been crapping for all I know).
Extension to our little kitty adventure came about a week after that. We found this cat cuddle café right behind my house. We went there for one of the cuddle sessions. They have close to 20 cats in there and I was back to the nerve wreck I was before my adventure with Blackie. However, I took the courage and played around with the cats. Again, playtime with cats is like watching a live version of those YouTube videos I get tagged on Facebook. Our smartass friend, L, thought prevention is better than cure and took a couple of his medications before he even had his allergic reactions *rolls eye* so, by the time we finished our cuddle session, his best friend, Mr Sneeze, came for a visit. Thankfully, antihistamines are the same everywhere, he took some of my medicines.
That is the end of my kitty adventure for now but maybe there will be other different adventures in near future. Lately, we have been going on hotpot adventures if that counts for an adventure at all.
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