I grew up with two cats, so it was tough to have them get old and go. I still well up thinking about it, even though I lost Dusty 4 years ago and Smokey... 2 or 3. To me, it's just strange to be cat-less. Dusty in particular was my childhood companion.
My family has now been essentially "done" with animals (I understand, my parents had lots of pets growing up, way more than me!), after our 2 cats, with several fish and a bird between. So they told me "Well, when the day comes that you have your own place, you can get a cat again."
I moved to a cat-friendly apartment 2 months ago, and my boyfriend and I really both like cats (he similarily has always grown up with two. And he also had a similar-looking Dusty who had to be put down a little before mine did, coincidence), so we figured as soon as we felt settled in, we'd start checking with the local animal refuge league.
Our initial plan was to get a kitten, which they'd be getting a bunch of soon. But while we were there last weekend, we wanted to look at the other cats too. Also, since we were in an apartment, it may be better to get an older cat, or at least, not a kitten, since it's more likely they'll be trained already and thus that's less potential apartment damage I have to worry about. And also, those poor kitties! There was a really talkative black cat there today that apparently was too social even for the pet store that he was stationed at. I wish I could adopt ALL THE CATS. But I digress.
We were immediately drawn to a little guy named Spunkie. Only a year old. He seemed a little floppy and listless, but I figured it was because it was hot, and all the cats were that way. He had some added listlessness because he was "coming off" his pain meds (just out of his neutering, and I guess had some complications with it). We figured we'd check on him again in a few days just to make sure he was OK. But he's so super cute, someone could just snap him right up within the week, you know?
We checked again this Tuesday, and he was headbutting his cage when he saw me, because he totally remembered me. He liked to just lounge around in his shelter cage like he didn't care about anything, but when we interacted with him he'd warm up. By the time we went to get him today, he was headbutting my chest in adoration. The only thing keeping us from bringing him home was that the shelter just needed approval from our landlord. Yesterday we bought our pet supplies, and then I ran into the landlord today, and she contacted the shelter, and we went there and did all the paperwork for bringing Spunkie home!
Spunkie is ridiculously mellow. I'm used to cats abhorring car rides, and meowing nonstop, but he uttered not a peep... I don't think I've heard him meow at all ever! He's living in our bathroom right now so he can get used to the place in little bits, although he already seems very interested in leaving and exploring elsewhere. And for now, he seems to enjoy chilling in our bathtub.
We're going to keep his name as is, although I'm not sure if his personality matches. They were explaining that when he first arrived there, they couldn't even do that "feline-ality" test because he was so terrified. In general, he's shy, but he certainly took a liking to us, so I bet that will change. His previous owner was too sick to keep him (
). I'm told he loves to sit in laps, and loves to be brushed. Well, I know the latter first-hand now, because he needs a lot of brushing, and he was even rolling on his back so I could brush his stomach.
He is definitely a ham.
Looks-wise, he looks a lot like my old Dusty.
(RIP)
I have a thing for grey tiger tabby looks. I kept telling my family I wanted a maine coon cat because they have the best dispositions and they're just huge and fluffy and floppy, so now I'm telling them I got this kitty and they're like "What about your maine coon cat?"
He's got the "chillax" personality for sure. He's just smaller, and slightly less fluffy.
I think my dream cat is still a huge maine coon cat named Bear. We'll see...
