by Naima Manal

Created on: March 03, 2009

It was many summers ago when our American domestic short hair cat entered our home. I guess it was the long faces and the silent voices that inspired my husband to buy the kitten for our daughters. Prior to this, my then young daughters used to welcome their favorite neighborhood cat - another American domestic short hair - into our yard each day. The cat must have belonged to a neighboring household, yet she considered our yard as her second home. We did not know that the last day we saw her would have be the last visit of her life to our home. We do not know what happened to her, all we know is she has a place in our hearts, perpetually.

One day, out of the blue, my husband came home with a surprise. It was the cutest little bundle of kitten joy, and she just delighted my children's hearts. She was barely six weeks old, so she clung tightly to everyone who held her. Her size was so small that she could seemingly fit in the palm of our hands. Over the next few weeks, we adjusted to her presence. The kitten's domestication was somewhat of a roller-coaster ride. We would oftentimes lose her, either in the closet, a big shoe, or in a bundle of clothes.

As the kitten grew more comfortable with her new home environment, she also grew in size. Well, I must say that her precious little kitten days went by very fast, and I found that I now had a cat - a kitten in a cat-size body. So, our cat, well, she just had and has her way of approaching things. I'm a meticulous cleaner, and I am especially particular about food handling. Needless to say, I was faced with the challenge of dealing with my precious animal on my kitchen counter. Now, that may not seem as an abnormal thing to expect from a cat. However, it was a very long time for me, since the last time I had a cat, and this was a big adjustment for me. So, that was our challenge, that and deciding where to keep her litter box and food.

Over the years, our American domestic short haired cat has acclamated very nicely to our home, or rather we've acclamated to our home being adjusted to our American domestic short haired cat. She is a member of our family, and like the other members of our family, she has her way of doing things around the house.

Now that she is much older, she has a tinge of maturity to her now. So, she now chooses sophisticated spots for her cat naps - no longer under a bed or on a pillow. She now naps on the pile of mail, on top of the computer hutch or cassette tapes, or even behind the printer. I am trying to understand this, but it's probably better for me to just respect her choices. What can I do?

I think our family has reached a point where we regard the cat's habits as a part of the normal daily routine. She still jumps on the counter, and this is something that I have not gotten used to. Nevertheless, she is here for my children, and we love her for that. Our concern now is all about her comfort. When our cat is comfortable, she prances around the house, and she strolls around with a gait of nobility. That's what I'd like to maintain, so that's kind of one of my goals for the cat.

None of these quirks, however, outweigh what she has meant to my family. She has warned us of lingering outside dangers, and she watches us go and come. She's a happy cat, and she still receives an abundance of love and affection in our home. I am grateful for her, and I know that my children are, as well.

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