Kim and I decided to get our first pet, a cute kitty, about a year and half ago. She was a little gray thing, sharing a house with loads of people, children and other animals. When we first met her, she seemed scared and twitchy. I could relate. Being around so many people...LOUD people, always moving fast, sending the animals fleeing in terror, I would be pretty twitchy too. I had to get her out of there, so I immediately told Kim, that yes, we should get her.
Upon getting her home (we lived in Kim's bedroom at her parents house) the kitty proceeded to move from hiding place to hiding place. While in hindsight I can understand her trepidation, at the time I felt like she didn't like ME. Being a person with Avoidant Personality Disorder, I tend to see criticism and judgment where there is none. So, in order to keep from getting too sad, I left the kitty to Kim to handle until she could stop being so scared. We decided to call the kitty "Stormy" because of her mood and gray fur. Before long, Stormy was no longer scared, and she slept with us in the bed and had a happy existence.
A year went by, and I felt the need for more animals. The reasons for this are debatable, but regardless, I felt the need. I had mentioned to Kim it would be cool to have a couple hamsters, and also have a nice habitat to watch them scurry around in all day, with tubes and ladders and what-not. Upon arriving at Petsmart, and looking at the small animals, I decided to speak to one of the employees for some advice. And a funny thing happened...she suggested we get a rat. A RAT?? WHAT??? I immediately recoiled from such an idea. But then it occurred to me..the rats were cheaper...so she wasn't just trying to "make a sale"...so, what could her reason be for suggesting a rat? So I asked her. She said "Rats are way more friendlier. Hamsters aren't fond of people, they tend to bite. Hamsters have a lower intelligence than rats. Rats are super smart, can be taught tricks, and LOVE people, love showing affection." This just blew my mind. Once again, I had stumbled across yet another prejudice that had been subtly ingrained into my brain. I love uprooting such idiocy, and so I asked to hold a rat, to see for myself. She smiled and seemed very pleased. She opened a rat cage, and some rats came right up, standing and looking at her, almost smiling. I felt my prejudice weaken. She handed a rat to me, and as it scurried along my arm, and I pet it...the prejudice SHATTERED. When the rat looked me in the eye, I could clearly see the intelligence...the lack of fear...the openness. So unlike a cat, which always seems so guarded. More like a tiny little dog that can climb and doesn't need a pooperscooper or long daily walks. I got two. :)
We ended up naming them Cloudy and Lightning...and believe it or not, we did not even think of how the names all correlated to weather. Cloudy had fur that was white, with two blotches of dark brown on her back, which looked like clouds. Lightning, on the other hand, had a zig-zag of brown running down her white fur, which looked like lightning. Cloudy was more a people person, always snuggling up to me or hanging out on my shoulder, and Lightning was a little explorer, and loved playing games with me of her own making, namely coming up to me, nibbling my toenail, and once she had my attention, she'd run off a few feet, and look back, waiting on me to chase her. I would, then run, and she would chase me. These girls are awesome.
Recently Kim and I were discussing getting another cat. And lo and behold, a couple weeks later, a lady at Kim's work said there was a stray cat that needed a home. A friend had already taken him to get fixed, get his shots, etc... SO we decided to check him out. He was a pretty yellow/orange Garfield type cat. About 6 months old, and gonna be a BIG BOY. We took him home, and on the way, while trying to decide on a name, the perfect one came to me. Sunshine. His fur looked just like the southern cali sun at sunrise or sunset. He is a great addition here, although quite playful at night, making it hard to sleep...hopefully that will die down as he ages. :P
And so that is my current animal family. Stormy, Cloudy, Lightning, and Sunshine.
Too bad we had to give Sunshine back.
ReplyDeleteIt was for the best, tho. :(
We'll miss him.