Never underestimate the power of persistence because, thank everything holy, I was a day away from getting a cat. Before anything else, I had to grab some of my Christmas cash (or what was left of it) for the usual cat stuff: food, litter, litter box, and cage. There’s no better place to do that in Metro Manila than in Cartimar, a marketplace mostly dedicated to pet care and merchandise.
Cartimar was no cool spot, that’s for sure, as the sun scorched the earth like it was excited for the coming summer days. I wondered then how all the cute critters were doing in that heat. They seemed to be doing well the more time I spent there, dogs smiling and panting like they usually do and cats, well, sleeping like they usually do. I was in love with every single one of them but I had this commitment with a friend, that I am scheduled to adopt one baby from the family’s newest litter.
That commitment went straight out of the window when I came across a cage of tiny little white kittens standing on their two hind legs while propped against the cage’s vertical bars. Meowing at every one who passed by. “Adopt me! Adopt me!” they said. It was no surprise at all that most people visited that very shop to check out the husky (a dog I recall had a bit of an attention whote complex). I wasn’t lured into that trap. I went straight for the kitties, and they were all so adorable. One kitten, however, caught my eyes with hers. By that I mean, one of her eyes was blue, one was green. She spoke to me with that raspy little meow of hers. I knew then and there that this was the kitten I had to adopt. There goes my arrangement with Nicole, I thought. I sent her an SMS about how I would bail on her and she didn’t seem to mind. More kittens for her, I guess. I brought her home the next day (was short on cash the day I found her).
Approximately two months later, here she is all fattened up (as opposed to her ribbed torso when I got her) and very comfortable at home. Confident even. She climbs all sorts of stuff as if the house is one big parkour gym. They grow up so fast, they really do. One day, I’m just going to wake up realizing how big Chelsea has gotten. Despite all the scratch marks on my thigh (after being treated like just another platform to climb) and bite marks on my foot (that is her method of waking me up at six in the morning for food), I love that crazy kitten to bits.
Recently she began cuddling with me every time I lie down to read a book or check my phone. I think she might just love me back now. 🙂
the lone ponderer 