Whiskers of Comfort: The Curious Cat Who Stole My Heart (Nabila Reza_24301523_Section-53)

One morning in August 2020, I woke up, finding myself surrounded by various thoughts. The agony of being cooped up in my house for so long crept into my mind and filled me with a sense of isolation. Nothing seemed to feel the same. No one had anticipated such an unusual occurrence as the COVID lockdown. As I was wondering about the recent changes in my life, suddenly a thought crossed my mind: What if I adopt a cat?

My family always likes keeping pets around. But after the death of my cat Brownie at the age of 8, we did not adopt any. That is why, adopting a cat felt like a spectacular idea. However, at a time like the COVID pandemic, adopting a feline could have a life-threatening impact, as these furry friends might be adorable, but they are still prone to COVID-19. Ultimately, after thinking about giving up the idea altogether, one of my mom’s colleagues showed interest in giving me a kitten, as she knew how much I loved cats. Then came the most anticipated day when me and my mom brought little Leo home.

After observing his behaviour and activities closely, I noticed that on Leo’s first day at my house, he expressed a wide range of emotions. At first, he was anxious and a bit scared, feeling like a fish out of water in this unknown place. He was hiding under my reading table. I could tell he was homesick and probably missing his old home. But soon (and by soon, I mean like in 2 to 3 hours), the 3-month-old kitten had forgotten everything and was sleeping on my lap. Not to mention that, when I tried to put him down, he was furious and started screaming, which I believe was his way of showing anger or disappointment. My father, however, did not know about Leo's arrival. When he came home from the office, he was surprised to find out we had brought a kitten.

Leo is now 4 years old and throughout these years he has become a significant part of my life and also our family. Unsurprisingly, he often acts as though I am his sibling. For some reason, he has formed a unique bond with me that he doesn’t have with my parents or anyone else in my family. Sometimes, he likes to playfully pick fights with me by pretending to bite me, which I find amusing because it feels like he wants to play with me. I have tried buying toys for him to keep him entertained, but he is not interested in them instead he prefers playing with me. However, due to my busy schedule, I can not always play with him as much as he would like, so he often just sits by my side or on top of my books when I'm reading. It is his way of trying to get my attention and keeping me company.

 

Leo is quite charming yet mischievous. He does not get along with other cats or even people outside our family. For example, whenever guests come over to our house, he hides behind the curtains or under the bed, showing signs of social anxiety. I have noticed that he becomes particularly agitated and frustrated whenever another cat is around.

 

Leo is also a curious cat. He spends most of his time peeping through the window and watching birds outside. Whenever it is raining outside, he rushes to the window to see the rainfall, and I believe he enjoys the rhythmic sound of rain.

As a house cat, his life has been filled with a lot of incidents, both fun and scary ones. There was this one time when Leo fell from the 8th floor of our building and miraculously survived. Actually, at that time, our apartment was on the 6th floor. As we had moved into the house not too long ago, we did not get the time to cat-proof the veranda, such as installing nets there. The housekeeper had not closed the veranda door, and she left it open. Leo heard the birds chirping on the 8th-floor veranda. He climbed the grill, and somehow, he reached the 8th floor. He was stuck there for some time until my father noticed that he was missing. At that time, I was at my college, so I didn’t know what was going on in my house. After coming back from college, I rushed to the veranda after hearing that my cat was crying somewhere. I looked up, and I just saw my cat falling from the 8th floor in front of my eyes. I was terrified, and chills ran down my spine. I did not know what to do. I ran to the ground floor to find where my cat had gone and if he had survived or died.

A lot of things happened that day, and fortunately, I got my cat back. We took him to the veterinary clinic as soon as we could. The doctor checked him, and he said that my cat had a fever. Luckily, he just had some scratches and some external injury, but nothing serious. That was a relief for me and my parents.

Although his knack for getting into trouble keeps me on edge, he is the part of my life that brings me joy and excitement. Having Leo as a pet is a fulfilling and remarkable experience, and I won’t trade him for anything in the world because I have such a unique bond with him.