Small Things Can Change a Whole Year—I Guess I Now Own a Cat.

About three weeks ago, I woke up to little meows of a kitten somewhere in our neighborhood. 

There are a handful of stray cats in our area. None are familiar with human care to accept food and allow themselves to be adopted. A kitten randomly calling out in the middle of the night only meant one thing, some bastards abandoned it. 

It is common for people in the Philippines to lay out food for stays each night. But once the friendly stray gets pregnant and gives birth where they thought was their home, these people bail. People we consider close to our family openly consider leaving kittens in a park because they did not sign-up for it.

In our quiet neighborhood, an abandoned kitten shows up every once in a while. These creatures are left to die from hunger and fear, get run over by a car, or, in rare chances, get adopted by the home it was abandoned closest to. 

My sister and I have pushed aside the dead bodies of little cats in our neighborhood on more than one occasion. We have gone out of the way to bury some more than once too. 

We never knew we would eventually have to adopt one for ourselves. In less than a month, II now own a cat—I guess (even if we are pretty much allergic to it)!

Meeting Day!

That early morning, a kitten found its way to our garage. Crying throughout the wee hours of the night and hiding in our car’s mechanical maze after we got up in the morning, we, like children, were excited and scared of what we will find. 

We hoped it was okay and was not too scared of human interaction. But we also hoped it was no longer there and founds its way home or to others who would take great care of it. 

Our dog hated it. Each meow sent our dog into a fixated frenzy. 

How were we supposed to deal with a kitten?  After just a few minutes with a cat, my sister goes on a sneezing binge. After half an hour with cats, my throat scratches like crazy, and my sniffles creep in. It needed a better home.

But there he was, smaller than my two hands and ready to rub and knead on these new human strangers that have gathered around to help him. In less than a day, he looked for warmth and a family in us. It needed that security and how quickly it found it in our arms.

But right now, there was nothing else to do but feed it and ask if our friends wanted or needed a cat. 

1  Week In!

A Tuxedo Kitten with a perfect mask around his eyes stared at us between the mechanical pipings of our Isuzu SUV. 

On the first day, he was too scared to step down but ready to respond to our meows—no matter how many meow exchanges we shared, he refused to come out. After watching my sister feed two other stay dogs that found their way into our lawn, the hungry creature could no longer resist. 

But in less than a week, he cries at the door and our garage windows begging at the top of his voice for food.  No longer scared to come out to the car, no longer a stranger to us. He greets us hello each morning, running toward us each time we enter the garage.

. 

2 Weeks In!

He was probably almost a month old. Since he was familiar with human touch only meant that some person cared for him in the last 3 or so weeks. He understood how to eat dry food and drink water or milk from a bowl. He also knew how to use a litter box on his own meaning he lived in a home with a mama cat that taught him how to use it.

Surely, this kitten was sheltered long enough to not need his mom as much. But even after being fed and having a bed for himself,  his cries and the constant search for milk to help him fall asleep showed the missing piece ripped from him.  Each time we carried him, he looked for the comforting pacifier that could only be found on his mother.

In 2 weeks, he stopped searching for his mom to help him sleep. In less than 2 weeks, he developed a routine around our waking and feeding time, and he also learned to play with us as if we were feline friends. 

Although we could not bring him inside with all our allergies, we tried to give him all we could as we waited for someone to officially take him as their own and care for him better than we can. 

1 Month Later!

There were no takers.

At first, we thought caring for the kitten would only be a temporary, foster-like situation as we looked for interested people who might want to take him in. 

A week went by, and our circle felt smaller. The hope of finding another home flew out the window.  Little did we know, this kitten might already be in its forever home—even if my dog still hates it. 

Despite our limitations, we tried to make it a good home in our garage. With nails cut, its very own cat food, and toys found in the yard, Zorrow settled nicely into his new home. He was no longer scared of the 2 strays who beg for food, and he learned to easily hide in all the clutter when my dog runs out the door. 

His meow-ful melodies filled the air first thing in the morning and when spoons and forks clink away over our meals. 

In 3 weeks, we started calling it our baby. We worry about leaving it and our dog alone at home for too long. With the last typhoon, we worried about its shelter and tried to keep it warm. 

I now somehow own a cat. 

Can we eventually change our lives for the better as quickly, too? I hope so.  Looking at how fast things have changed, it feels like  I can transform my daily routine and responsibility toward what I hope to achieve. It feels possible.