A Cat as a Natural Sleep Aid

The kitten we have found in the end of summer proved to be a fantastic asset. She is fearless, tireless, playful and cuddly. She purrs like a big caterpillar tractor despite her tiny size. She steals food and gets into every box and cabinet. We fight for the right to sleep with her as she is the most fantastic sleep aid, warm and purring. You hold her and feel the tension leave you... 

She might not be the most beautiful cat I have seen, but she has the most amazing personality and a very strong character. 

And she is the funniest cat ever, too. See her sleeping in a flower pot? She just loves it. I wanted to plant a new flower but maybe I should just keep it for Wing Chun as she likes it so much.

A Good Cat Grows Where Planted

You can take a cat our of a village, but you cannot take a village out of a cat.

Remember the kitten that we found in the end of the summer, far from the city? She probably misses the rustic life, because she consistently sleeps in the pot with the ficus Alii (Ficus maclellandii). This habit of hers is so sweet and funny, it does not even require commenting. I look at the photos and I feel like falling asleep together with the little Wing Chun... She is extremely good for my nerves, so soothing.

We Have a New Pet! My Daughter's Rescue Kitten.

Just two days before going back to the city from the summer house in  a remote village, we found this creature. My daughter saw her at the beach and came to pet, and the kitten followed her. I thought it was our neighbours', but no - nobody claimed the poor thing. Nobody expressed the desire to take her, too.

Malnourished and dirty, but full of courage and incredibly cuddly - she starts purring before you start petting her - she won our hearts immediately. My daughter was very sad that someone could throw the baby cat away, she just could not believe someone could do it on purpose. "Most likely, she is just lost! Wandered away!". Of course, I don't believe a small kitten would have wandered away from her mother. Most likely, someone decided to get rid of her.



We just kept feeding her and cuddling with her to make her feel safe and protected. My daughter was hopeful that we could keep the kitten, but I had my doubts. We live in apartment in the city, no garden or yard, and we have a large dog. Can we keep the cat or her life would be deficient?

I do some volunteer work as a photographer for a rescue, and I know that it is not easy to find good families for kittens. There are just too many. Actually, I also know that I can adopt out almost any animal (without grave issues), but it takes time and promotion efforts. Sometimes it takes months. So, keeping or giving away?

 

We did keep her, after consulting between ourselves. She does not need much space or food; as for the boring life in the apartment, we will try to make up for that by frequent visits to the summer house and maybe some walks in the city parks later (the latter is dangerous, too much infection). Right now her life is not boring, she keeps exploring the flat and terrorising the dog. My Malinois with jaws of steel is extremely tolerant and clearly the kitten is safe with him.

We call her Wing Chun - Chinese martial art. She moves softly and strikes hard like Yip Man. In these photos, she is still very thin and her eyes are sad. She has gained weight now and looks much happier, I will share new photos soon.

I am quite happy about my daughter's behaviour. At 10, she already understands that pets need to be cared for, every day, consistently, and that a responsible and good person would never abandon a pet. She cleans the litter box and feeds her "baby"; they play and sleep together. So, probably keeping the kitten was not a bad idea. The dog's life is not boring, too.