I left my last post on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I was going to use this post to resolve it, but recent events have made me think about this memory. Besides, it happens around the time that the last blog occurs, and it does give some insight into different things about me.
When I was in kindergarten or first grade, my parents decided to take me on a trip to see my aunt and Uncle in another state. It was about 15 hours from my house, and in the days before GPS, my dad had to rely on a map. I have made the trip myself, and it doesn't take nearly as long as he did, but it is still a decently long trip.
My aunt and uncle never had children. I was never given the whole reason, but from what I was told, had they married different people, they probably could have had a chance, but since they chose each other, they couldn't have any. So, my aunt had dogs and cats instead. Even today, she always has a few cats in her house. I know visions of the crazy cat lady might come into play, but she wasn't like that at all. Her cats were just her babies.
When I got there, I naturally liked to play with the animals. On this trip, one of my aunt's cats had recently given birth, and she had a litter of kittens. They all liked to play with me, but there was one who attached herself to me. It was a black cat with flecks of orange fir, and she and I played a lot together while I was still at my aunt's house. She even woke me up in the morning, much like a dog might. I somehow became her favorite human. My dad saw this and decided we should take the cat home. So, with that, I had my first pet.
This cat was furiously loyal to me and my family and liked to fight with the neighborhood cats. She never got out to physically fight them, except when she snuck by my mother, opening the door and chasing another cat out of the yard, ending the pursuit. One day, she decided to bite the screen of one of our windows to get at a cat in our yard and pulled one of her teeth out.
When we got a family dog, my cat had to lay down the law fast. When the dog was lying down, minding her business, my cat leaped from one side of the room to the other to smack the dog directly. The dog wasn't bothering her; she just had to assert that she was in control. The dog would repay her attitude by chasing her from one house floor to the other, cornering her under couches and beds.
My cat lived a long, natural life, and nothing bad really ever happened to her, but like all things in life, it came to an end. I think the cat lived to be about 15 or 16 years old before she finally had to be put down for health complications. She was always a great cat, and I will forever miss her.
I wanted to talk about this memory because about a week ago, I traveled to visit some friends and my aunt and uncle. When I got there, I stayed at an Airbnb that had been feeding a bunch of stray cats in the area. One cat took a liking to me and would not leave my side while I was unpacking my car. It was like my childhood cat all over again.
I have an affinity with animals. One of the families that I tutored for had a dog that would sense me coming and greet me with great fervor at the door. She would not leave my side while I was there. The father of the family said that it was because I had a good soul, and animals would always see that inside me. I also believed that animals could sense a person's innate morality when they saw them. You should always think of an animal when it doesn't like someone.
But another thing that I have realized is that animals seem to choose me as the person they want to be with. This would happen again to a dog that I got in my college years. It just makes me wonder if that cat is still there. If I drove back to that Airbnb, would it still be there waiting for me to come pick her up and take her back to my home? One more road trip might be in order.
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