I have a cat, a seven-year-old moggie who I have named Lily. Chris and I adopted Lily last summer from an animal shelter in a nearby town. I'd been wanting a cat for a long time and we finally decided to adopt one. I had a cat when I was a little girl but haven't had one since. Chris has never had a cat. I've loved cats longer than I remember. They are so sweet, goofy and mysterious and I am intrigued by their distinct personalities. Plus they all have such amazing eyes that are so expressive. You can learn so much about what a cat is feeling by looking into its eyes.
So we adopted Lily and she ran off two hours after we brought her home. I was heart broken. I wanted to give her a home and love her but she ran away. We searched for nearly two hours but she wasn't coming back. Neither Chris or I got much sleep that night. How pathetic was that? I had a cat for all of two hours and the thing ran away from me. I felt like the worst pet owner in the world. Family and friends suggested we leave out cat food which we did. Night after night we would leave a bit out and sure enough it would get eaten but we didn't know if it was Lily or another cat living in the area.
One of our neighbours said he saw her jump over the fence in his back garden so we had a little hope. Then one night I was in the kitchen after a late meeting and I heard some meowing. We had run out of cat food. I thought it was in my head because of course I was obsessing about losing the cat. But then I opened the door and there she was. It took me over an hour to coax her inside again but she eventually followed me, well followed the food. She was hesitant with us the first couple of nights but by the weekend she was sleeping in the bedroom and gave us her full seal of approval.
Lily is a little madame. She rules over us. If she is hungry, she lets us know. This morning I was awoken by whiskers in my face and purring. Apparently it was breakfast time. I want to be mad at her when she wakes me up early but I can't. I just get out of bed and head downstairs to give her what she wants. If her kitty litter needs changing, she lets me know because she knows Chris will never touch it.
She isn't a lap cat. She hates being picked up and cuddled and prefers to be stroked while sitting on the arm of the chair I am sitting in. Yesterday morning I woke up in bed and she was cuddled up next to me. I didn't acknowledge her cause I didn't want to scare her away. I think that was her way of telling me she trusts me but she doesn't want me to catch wind of it. She likes to be in control.
Lily snores. It's super cute. I didn't think cats snored but she does. Sometimes when Chris and I are in bed at night we hear her snoring away, content in her cat bed. Now that it is sunnier, she follows the sun around the house, stretching out so the sun kisses the right part of her body. I found her in the bathroom one morning because that was where the sun was.
When I come home from work, she knows my routine. She will meet me at the door and follow me upstairs while I change out of my work clothes. After I change we have a little petting and purring. It's our little ritual and such a nice thing to come home to after a long day.
Lily doesn't play tons. She sometimes bats a toy mouse around but this lasts little more than five minutes on any one occasion. She will race around the house at night for no reason, just running up the stairs jumping and running back down again. I'm not sure if she wants me to play with her or not so I just let her get on with it. Bedtime usually follows this.
Chris says I am obsessed with Lily and I probably am. She brings me so much joy and happiness. She is so independent and set in her ways. Sometimes I wish she was a bit more of a lap cat but then she wouldn't be Lily. She definitely has cattitude in spades. The way she walks around the house, you would think she was some kind of monarch. She has so much class and is almost regal, like we should be bowing down to her or something.
I do wonder if she would like to have a cat friend at home all the time with her but then I think she wouldn't be able to rule over us the way she does. I think she likes having that power. Lily has these beautiful turquoise-green eyes. If she is happy she tells you with her eyes. They become big and the pupils slightly dilated. But if she is angry she just scowls with her eyes. And her little black nose is so cute. It's like a little black gum drop.
I know she is a cat and cats are pets and not people but I love her tons and tons. I feel so lucky she came back to us. Maybe that's my problem, because she left I feel like I need to prove myself to her. At any rate, she is having her way with me.
And she totally knows when her picture is being taken cause she will be super cute than move and not move back so I will miss it.
