Cat Dad
CAT DAD
After my trip, I came home to find a fair bit of chaos waiting for me. It was time to get my crap together and start acting like an adult again.
Apart from returning to my usual routine of work and the gym, up next was my attempt at the MRCEM SBA exam. I needed to pass it to progress to the next stage of my training at the end of the year, so the pressure was on. That was gonna be my life for the foreseeable future – work, work out and study. Boring, bland and mundane. But hey, it’s good to have some semblance of normality every once in a while.
Chosen by a Calico
That, as usual, lasted for a hot second. It was a cold January evening. I had just got back from the gym. I stepped onto the porch and heard purring. Sitting right beside me on the fence was a cat. I’d forgotten my house keys, so I rang the bell, hoping someone was home to let me in. By the time my mother opened the door, the cat was already in my arms, purring ever so loudly.
She was a beautiful, gorgeous calico with the cutest face I’d ever seen. One of her ears was notched, while a small, healed cut marked the right side of her lower lip. With her best cat eyes and my best puppy-dog eyes, we both looked up at my mother, our expressions saying everything. “We already have two dogs!” she said. “We’ve never had a cat,” I replied. We’d had many a dog while I was growing up, but they had never truly been mine. From the moment I heard that first purr, I knew this one would be different. This would be my cat. She had chosen me.
Still carrying her, I hurried to my room and gently placed her on the floor. She took a good look around before traipsing across the entire room, inspecting every corner until she found a comfortable spot behind the television from which she could snoop and spy on me. We spent the next few minutes simply staring at one another. Then, cautiously, we both began moving closer. She started purring again, the sound intensifying the second I stroked the top of her head. There was no doubt about it. She had chosen me.
At that point, I realised that owning a cat would mean becoming accountable to someone other than myself. I’d have to feed her, change her litter and make arrangements whenever I was at work or travelling abroad. But the way she looked at me? It was a no-brainer. She was mine. And let’s face it – I was hers.
An Ode to my Ex-Feline Roommate
I took her into my arms again and headed towards the bathroom. In my complete ignorance as a first-time cat owner, I bathed her in lukewarm water using the dogs’ shampoo – something I later learnt wasn’t exactly the best idea. Somehow, I even managed to blow-dry her afterwards. Through it all, she didn’t so much as hiss, scratch or bite me.
Once we were done, I carried her back to my room, where she immediately returned to her favourite spot behind the television and resumed snooping around. Snooping… Snoop… Of course! The only other cat I’d ever come close to owning was Snoop – the gorgeous feline at Underwater Vision who had spent two months sojourning in the dorm with Amelia and me. I had loved that cat dearly, and this little calico somehow reminded me of him.
There she sat behind my television, quietly scouting her new surroundings and watching my every move. Calling her Snoop would’ve been too obvious… What to name her, what to name her… Not Snoop – something similar, but not quite the same. Hmm… That’s it – Scout! The name just felt right. And so, I called her Scout – a quiet tribute to the first cat I had loved and the perfect name for the curious little calico who had now chosen me.
Fitting Right In
Having two dogs meant we already had a bunch of things I could use for Scout. Within minutes, my room had been cat-proofed – or at least as cat-proofed as it could be with absolutely no preparation.
I set out two bowls for food and water, as well as a bed for her to lie on. She took a sip of water before immediately hopping onto my bed instead. My colleague, a crazy cat lady through and through, soon dropped by with a litter tray, a bag of cat litter, some cat food and a few toys. Scout ate some of the food before approaching the litter tray cautiously, only using it once I had politely turned away and given her some privacy. Just like that, we were all set. She had already settled in. In fact, she spent the entire night sleeping on my bed.
It seemed a little suspicious that she was already so comfortable around people and perfectly accustomed to living indoors. The following day, I scoured local social media pages and community groups to see whether anyone had reported a missing cat. No one had.
I then arranged for a vet to come over and examine her. After looking at her teeth and general condition, he estimated that she was probably around five years old. He also reassured me that it wasn’t unheard of for friendly stray cats to adapt to an indoor environment so quickly. He gave her the vaccinations she needed and then went on his merry way. And just like that, I became a fully fledged cat dad.
Stay wild,
Marius
Post-Scriptum
Since Scout came into my life, I’ve become something of a crazy cat man myself. I can finally understand why cat owners go completely cuckoo over these fantastic little beings.
To this day, I firmly believe that she is the love of my life. I swear, merely thinking about her is enough to make me tear up. She is just so, so perfect! Those ears. That tiny snout and those long whiskers. Those little white paws and pink toe beans. That fluffy black, orange and white coat. She is truly perfect. And she chose me!