Hello, I am Kat.
And here is my story.
Intro to cats
Many people who know me know that I love my cats, I have three. Growing up, my parents always had dogs, but one of my fondest memories was when I was about three years old, and my parents brought home a kitten. I don’t remember much of how they found her, but I think it was given to them by a neighbor. Back then, and I’m talking about back in the eighties, people had a somewhat lax attitude towards pets, we still have a long way to go but I’d like to think things are better. But getting back to my first kitty, I still remember her name, it was Tammy. She was a Grey tabby and I just remember wanting to hold her and pick her up constantly. I also remember that she did not like that much! I was always covered with scratches, or so I’m told. I do remember one specific time, and remember, I was three, so it is a bit of a blur, but I was standing in our lounge and I picked Tammy up for a cuddle, and she hissed and spat at me, she was not happy at all. Next thing I knew, she was gone, I never saw her again.
My parents say that she just ran away, and never came back. With my knowledge of cats as I sit here writing, with one of my boys lying next to me, I can’t help but feel pity for Tammy, but I am grateful to her for being my first memory of what would grow into a great love story!
Where my story begins
So here I am today, a thirty-something, married woman, no kids, except for my three fur boys! I do have two budgies as well, but that’s another story. My three boys were not my first, and I have fond memories of the two cats that really made me fall in love with the feline species! I suppose that is a great place to start, meet Sasha! It was a spur of the moment decision, and I was totally gullible to the idea of getting a kitten. Like I said, my parents were and are always dog lovers, as am I, but I just tend to sway towards felines, this I thank Sasha for. She was my first kitty, and she was beautiful. She was a Calico girl, with blotches of cream, white and black. Just gorgeous. How I got her, I can say I am not totally proud of, but I do believe it happened for a reason. It was in 2008, I went to a local shopping mall in Pretoria, and as I was walking down towards the shops I intended to go to, I stumbled across a pet store. I cringe at the words! But, I went in, and there in the cage was a tiny ball of fur fast asleep. I said to the clerk, how much for this kitty, and to be honest, I don’t even remember what number she gave me. She took her out, she was so fragile and small, and I remember asking why she isn’t waking up? The store clerk just laughed and moved her a bit, and then I saw her face. And there and then I knew, she would be my first love, my first rescue I believe. I knew nothing about cats, my memories were limited to Tammy, but I knew that I would give her the best home and I still believe I did. I bought a “starter pack” for kitties at the same store, and went on my way. As you’ve probably questioned, my husband knew nothing about this decision and I made it based on instinct. I fell in love immediately, and so did hubby. Then in 2010, I was sitting at work, and a colleague ran in saying that there is small grey kitten in the warehouse area, that isn’t moving. I, of course, ran out, picked up this small, fragile little body, and was thrilled to see he was still alive, but barely! I went straight to my boss and said, I’m rushing him off to the vet. He, being a cat lover himself, said of course! To cut a long story short, he was fine, just a little bit dehydrated and starving! I took him home, and that was it! I fell in love, again! We named him Diezel, reason being, he was full of fuel when I found him, so I gave him one big bath, he was also covered with fleas, as I saw them rushing to his head as I poured the water over him. He became my very first rescue then and there, our little “Dizi”! Sadly, we lost our Dizi a couple of months after we lost Sasha in 2012.
Here we go!
Just after Sasha passed away, I saw how it affected Dizi, so I looked into adopting a kitten. After extensive research, and trying to figure out how to go about it, I found the purrfect match! Introducing Travis. My third rescue! I will never forget the day I went to go meet Travis for the first time. I walked into a house, barking dogs everywhere, and kitties running wild inside the house. There were no cages, or confinement, which I did not approve of, but they were all rescues and it seemed like the shelter was run by students. I could understand that they wanted to do good, but had minimal means it seemed. None the less, I walked in with my mom, and they took me to where Travis was hiding out. He was under one of the beds, terrified along with the feral kitties. Travis had been there since he was six weeks old, but because he bonded with the feral kitties, he developed that temperament. I was shocked, but excited to meet him. I knew I would give the best shot at a second chance. One week later, he was dropped off at our house, after passing the pre-adoption inspection. I was thrilled to finally have him home from there!
After Dizi went to the Rainbow Bridge, I could not comprehend going through that amount of grief again! So it was just Travis and us, but I knew that it was also in his best interest to be a lone for a while. Him and I bonded tremendously over this time, and we still have such a strong bond today! But, after hearing that one of my friends, who is also a massive cat lover, mentioned that her brother’s cat had three kittens, and she is trying to rehome them before they get sent to a pet store, I just had to give open our home to one of them. This time, I did discuss it with hubby, and he was in! I told my friend that I would love to give one of the kittens a forever home, and she invited me to come have a look and take my pick. Of course I knew this was going to be tough, but as I got there and I saw the three cuties it was easy. I just knew when I saw the little one, all grey, only two weeks old at the time, but, I just knew, he was the one! I do believe that they pick you. Four weeks later, and on our wedding anniversary in 2012, seven months after we lost Dizi, we were bringing Sancho home!
So, here I sit, on my couch, surrounded by three cats, Travis who is turning 7 in December this year, Sancho who is turning 6 in September, and our new edition! Scotch! Scotch is about 8 weeks old, and we found him outside our gate a week ago, and here we go!
With love,
Kat
