My current cat, best friend, and perhaps even owner goes by the name “Belle”. I would say she answers to that name except she doesn’t really answer to anything or anyone. She is a tortoise-shell cat and her personality is even more colorful than her coat. She is the epitome of the saying that cats are some of the most independent creatures. Our paths crossed a little over three years ago soon after my parents and I moved in to our new home. My friend at that time was well known for fostering stray cats until a home could be found. While I was at his house one day in August, he happened to be taking care of a tiny kitten who followed us everywhere. After a few games of ball throwing and feather dangling, the cat and I were already best buds. After a few phone calls and a few more puppy-eyed pleas, Belle found her way in to our new home. However, we soon discovered that she acted fiercely bipolar. While she is probably not burdened with the mental affliction, she is still not afraid to cuddle up with me for the night and then greet me in the morning with a sharp pair of fangs.
Apart from her occasional rampages, Belle is a very docile cat. But when she adopted us, she maintained her distance for over a year. She refused to assume her role as “lap cat” but found herself content to keep an eye on us from a couch across the house or from the fireplace. I suppose her relatively uneventful early life is the main reason why my most memorable moment with her, in retrospect, was not phenomenally huge.
After over a year of a standoffish relationship with her, we experienced a harsh winter and, even though all the thermostats told us the house was perfectly warm, there was no mistaking a piercing chill throughout the the place. After going to bed and just before I dozed off, I felt a startling *kathump* at the foot of my bed followed by a gingerly approaching mass. It took me several seconds to realize that my room was not haunted but in fact Belle had finally warmed up to us…or she was just too desperate to be warm that she no longer cared. Either war, she slowly made her way towards the head of my bed where she sniffed and inspected the place before squeezing under the comforter and settling down next to my arm. Despite her detached and occasional aggressive behavior, we are still best friends and I am so happy to be her human.
“I would eat them if I was bigger”
-Cat Thoughts