com·pan·ion
/kəmˈpanyən/
noun.
a. a person or animal with whom one spends a lot of time or with whom one travels.
b. one of a pair of things intended to complement or match each other.
About four months ago, we adopted our first pet – a darling little cat whom we call Crema. I first mentioned her in my year in review post; however she is such a big part of our life now, and I think she deserves her own post.
Back in November, we found out that the animal rescue centres in Toronto were having a “sale” for Black Friday, waiving almost all of their adoption fees. Money wasn’t the object here… we actually found this kind of weird at the time. I mean, how can you say to people that your pet was ‘discounted’? But we decided to visit the shelter nearest to us, anyway, and that’s when we found Crema.
Throughout my childhood, my family owned a couple of different cats. First, we had a black and white kitten named Buster. He and I grew bigger together, and I actually had a book called, “Buster the Cat Goes Out” that I asked my mom to read to me almost every day. I’m told I carried that book (and the cat) around all over the place.
Later, my family adopted an orange and white cat for my birthday! She was always very special to me, but after a few years, she developed diabetes. We were told this was common, and despite medications, her health deteriorated. I can still remember the day I went to school with the knowledge that my kitty wouldn’t be home when I got there.
My husband, however, only ever had dogs as a kid, but it was actually his idea to look into getting a cat. I was really cautious about this suggestion, given that his experience with cats wasn’t always positive AND he believed he was actually allergic to cats. I didn’t want to get my hopes up.
Since he’s the kind of guy to research the heck out of things, I would often find him reading all different articles online about cat breeds and which types would be ‘hypoallergenic.’ Eventually, he decided it would have to be a short-haired cat, and the best we could do was go to the shelters and see how he felt.
When we arrived at the shelter, we learned that Crema had been rescued a few weeks previous after wandering the streets as a stray. Because of this, the shelter had little information about her, but they estimated that she was 3-years-old. We noticed that some of the other cats had notes on their files about not being good with other pets, or with kids, but Crema had nothing of the sort.
At this shelter, you could let the cats out into a bigger room to play with you. We opened the door for Crema, and unlike other cats who bolted out the door, she cautiously sniffed at our hands. We sat on the floor in front of her, and soon she started rubbing her head on our hands, or our knees. Eventually, she came out to play, roaming around to explore the toys that were outside.
We had played with a few other cats, but there was something about her calm, cuddly nature that we both loved. Andrew looked at me and said, “I think this is the one,” and I agreed, but I truly didn’t believe we would be taking one of these furry friends home that day. “Are you sure?” I asked, and he just smiled and said, “Yes.”
Andrew went out to talk to the shelter staff and request that we adopt her. They gave us a questionnaire to fill out, and he paid a small fee. They told us to take her to a vet within 72 hours, and gave us a collar, a small bag of food, and a box to take her in. When Andrew brought the box to me and I put it down on the floor, Crema jumped right in and made herself at home. In that moment, my heart melted and I knew she was meant to be part of our family.
Over the past few months, we have learned so much about our precious pet.
She loves to be loved. She’ll paw at your face, your arm, your leg – whatever she can reach – to get your attention. BUT she does not like to be held, carried, or sat in your lap. She follows us around from room to room, because she doesn’t usually like to be alone. And my favourite thing of all, when she hears us in the hallway on our way home from work, she runs to the door to greet us with the bell on her collar jingling the whole way.
She is incredibly curious. She likes to hide in boxes, suitcases, and backpacks… or under her bed. Whenever we bring home something new, she is right there in the middle of everything, searching through bags and jumping in boxes.
She is playful (when she wants to be). Her favourite things are ribbons and strings, but she also LOVES when her catnip toy is hidden under her bed or dangling in the air. She becomes an acrobat when you have a treat for her – reaching up on her two back legs, chasing after you, or spinning in circles. And she randomly runs up and down the hall when she has a burst of energy.
She thinks she’s in charge. She prefers to drink water from the same glass cups that we use, rather than the small silver bowl that belongs to her. She’s developed an understanding of our schedule, so when she thinks it’s time for us to wake up in the morning, she will constantly meow at us until we do. And she sometimes huffs at us when she’s displeased, and it just makes us laugh.
She sleeps A LOT. Her favourite places for a snooze are under a blanket on the couch, in my backpack in our closet, or more recently, curled up on a blanket beside our bed. She’ll spend a whole day in bed with you, if that’s where you want to stay.
All in all, we love everything about her and we cannot wait to see what she does next!