Begrudgingly... that's how I felt. Reluctantly, resentfully, I accepted the tricolour 5 month kitten called Precious into my life. She wasn't that BIG a part of my life, compared to my beautiful senior cat Willow, whom we nursed everyday, hoping to bring her back to good health. As with all things in life, that period came to an end. It wasn't a breeze every day, and there was no 'thank you' as we wrestled her down on the daily, but there was the sweet loaf shaped positions, cute sleeping postures, and wonderful cute annoyed looks and swishing tail. And lots of pats, soft talking and putting my face on her stomach to hear her purr.
Even though we did not retrieve her ashes to scatter at the foot of the Willow tree, I hoped that Willow's spirit will rest in peace. I hoped that the two months of home comfort and cuddles (with free rein to sleep anywhere in our house) made up for the miserable last week in the lonely I.C.U. While there are some things that I still feel guilty about, I know, for a fact, that if Jolin and I hadn't come to Willow's rescue, she would have been sent off to the animal pound. Shelter... whatever you want to call it, it wouldn't be a rescue home or a sweet heaven... She would have been stuck with plenty of noisy cats (and dogs!) and probably kept in the cage 24/7 as a sickly cat would have been kept away from healthy (for adoption) cats.
When Jolin made a photo album dedicated to Willow, it was the painful to watch till the end. From the healthy, adorable, quick witted neighbourhood/park cat, to our frequent visitor cat, and finally on a daily basis towards her end. As selfish and as childish as it sounds, Willow will always be my favourite cat- as I am not alone- as she had touched three households at once, from two Malaysian families to even a maid employed by another family who she displays affection for (the belly flops and brushing). And this is also how we ended up with loads of unopened bubble wrapped tuna after her passing. Tuna for human consumption. And now we go to the main part of the story....
Barely a week after, this devilish kitten called Precious arrived. We had to suffer a mini heartbreak over another cat that didn't make the cut, Nomo, whom we all had very high hopes and expectations for. In our view to tame something to make it accustomed to us and love us, we had traded Nomo's spot for a kitten. Precious was on the Olympics medalist (bronze) after Nomo (silver) and Donna (gold, whom was already adopted).
We had it rough with Precious due to her ever hyperactive nature. And by rough, I meant, sleepless nights (it was same as the night I stayed up watching Fruits Basket till 9 A.M.). Somehow, Jolin managed to adapt and fall asleep amidst all the flurry of nocturnal activities by Precious. But we HAD promised to return her. The day came and went, with my older brother making up some excuse (a valid one- he had purchased new cat toys for Precious) in order to keep her longer. The Day 2 Jolin that was so adamant to sent her away was NOWHERE to be seen. I was alone. With everyone throwing adorable looks at Precious and wanting to keep her, there was only ONE WAY for me to maintain my sanity. Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too? (Idiom definition: to do or get two things at the same time, esp. things that are not usually possible to have together)
I knew that when the time comes again next week, the same reluctance to send her away would be apparent. It's clear as day that the kitten is cute (a fact I won't deny), but in my self-entitled world, I was not about to let a cute thing ruin my day. You want her to stay? Fine. As long as she doesn't give me hell or get in my way. As long as we can co-exist peacefully. Because if we can... then I can embrace her cuteness more. Even though she is not my type. My type of cat is Willow or Minky (Kosmo wasn't too bad either)- but the sweet natured ones that you can pat (at least for a good while!- e.g. Willow had a time limit and an adorable grumpy look but she didn't mind since she was purring like a purring machine). And Minky even fell asleep on my chest and was very gentle natured and cuddly. Kosmo was cute and hyperactive but still easy to hold and handle and pet. Those are my ideal type of cats. But I know, I know... Compromise right?
They just wanted to house an almost homeless kitten- whose previous owners are just happy to pass her over at the drop of a hat (Idiom: immediately, without delay or hesitation) without running any background checks on the new owners. We run the risk of Precious' previous owner passing her over to a possibly new unkind, irresponsible owner -who won't have her best interests at heart, at the mildest; or whom is abusive, at the worst. Perhaps we are the safest choice. Nobody actually hates her. While I am sulking about a thousand things to do with Precious, I am no fool- I know that for a kitten, her behaviour is simply normal. I just prefer a more docile, sweet, cuddly type of cat- over a hyperactive, kicking furball that ONLY wants to cuddle when sleepy.
So I acted fast. Partly to keep my sanity. Partly to keep my cool. Mostly so I could calm my emotions and stop being too mean to others (they don't deserve this) I kicked out all the cat belongings from mine and Jolin's shared bathroom and set up the 'cat station' in our second floor family hall/study area. Then some cleaning urge gripped me, hard, and I spent the next few minutes (probably a good chunk of time passed) cleaning and cleaning. I was obsessed with knowing that now the cat territory has been moved, this place could be much cleaner! It wasn't living up to its non-cat existence potential! I vacuumed my room, swept the bathroom, picked up hairs and 'reset' the hygiene of our shared space once again. This time, kitten free. For the family hall, I made sure all the junk had been moved out of the way and the litter mat was placed as securely as possible. I even scooped out the litter ASAP and marveled that now I don't have to smell the cat litter anymore. Small things, little things, but so much difference.... when you know there's a before and after. The compromise felt like a solution was reached (with all the plastic wrapping and cat proofing going on downstairs)- although a good deal of 'loud talking' preceded (wasn't all that smooth and peaceful), while the aftermath- rigorous cleaning of my living spaces made me feel my soul was being cleansed as well.
I suppose... there IS A WAY to make things WORK for everyone after all.... With a little bit of patience, negotiation and compromise. Sans the yelling and blaming/finger-pointing! I don't think anyone got the short end of the stick. (Idiom: an outcome in which one has less advantage than others.) Everyone got to keep the cat, the cat gets to stay and be spoiled, my living spaces are still fairly hygienic, and nobody's sleep will get interrupted. Hopefully no furniture will be hurt in the making (we have prepared for this outcome and taken steps to address it beforehand). It's a near 100% satisfactory outcome for everyone, with the exception that Jolin doesn't get to cuddle Precious while sleeping.
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