My Tabby cat Milo. I never would have thought I would write a blog about my furry buddy but he’s one unique little guy who has brought lots of laughter and love in our lives. He’s crazy, he’s moody but he is our boy and we love him. So how did Milo come into our life? Before we get to that, let’s go back in time!
Tabby Cat – Dog lover Converted to Cat Lover
I grew up as a dog lover! I had a lab/border collie cross and he was great! He was cheerful, playful, a bit lazy and loved food. He was a lot like me!
However, when I was getting married, we were not going to have any pets as we were going to live in a small apartment. But one of our wedding gifts was a cute, loud black and white tuxedo Kitten. My wife was thrilled! She is an avid cat lover and wanted to keep the kitten. I protested but caved quickly (who wouldn’t – my wife is the most charming person that I know!). However, a funny thing happened, that kitten became devoted to me and I still don’t know why. Pandora followed me everywhere. She sat on my shoulders as I did chores and laid on me any chance she got. She squawked constantly but she melted my heart. Yes I became a cat lover!
Becoming a Cat Lover Times Two!
As our cat Pandora grew up, we realized that she might need a cat buddy. So we started searching for another cat. We finally stumbled on a tiny Siamese/Calico cross who was the runt of her litter. She was pretty scared and cuddled into my wife’s arm, seeking security. That was all my wife needed to see and she became our cat right there and then!
We called her Chilli and she lived up to her name. She was laid back and chill, and gave our other cat space until she got used to her. She loved to hang out with my wife while she read. My wife would lay her book on her as she read and Chilli would just lay there for hours. We each had a cat as Chilli was devoted to my wife and Pandora was devoted to me. We were full fledged cat lovers.
Coping with Loss
The worst thing about being an animal lover is when your pets get older. Sadly, there are times you have to put them down. As our cats got older and sicker, we had to do this with both our cats. (Panny was 16, and Chilli was 14. As the runt, our little Chill Pill always had a few more health issues to contend with.) It was horrible and heart breaking. Even now as I type this, the emotions of those times slowly come back. We told ourselves afterwards that we would never have any more pets as losing them was too hard to cope with. But a weird thing happened…
Realization and Our Tabby Cat Milo!
About two and a half years after losing our Chilli, I realized that we needed a cat friend. Both of us grew up with pets and always had pets in our lives. I realized that having a feline buddy helps relieve stress and is a good distraction from the anxieties of life. My wife was surprised at my suggestion as usually I am the rational one when it comes to pets. She agreed with my reasoning and the search was on for a new little kitten. She knew exactly what kind she wanted, a tabby cat!
My wife scoured the internet and finally found an ad on Kijiji for a little male Tabby cat for $80. (We were both nervous to go to the SPCA – feelng concerned that we would in fact want to take every cat home with us!) She wrote a beautiful email to the owner as they were getting many responses and wanted to choose the right home for the kitten. To our relief, they wanted to sell the kitten to us, and the next day we were driving across the city to get our Milo (the name we were going to call him)! Stay tuned for the next blog as I discuss our first few days of my life with Milo.
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