Miraculous 2015. The need for a furry friend to come home was clear. I grew up with a dog and the familiarization with human’s best friend was huge. My friends were also dog parents. Sadly, my daily routine wouldn’t let me be a valuable guardian, so I thought it would be better to adopt an independent pet, with its own at-home toilet.
This search led me to SPAZ and I found the most precious treasure.
In my life came my Stelios, my little guy, my cutie, my baby! I vividly remember the first day he came home, the way he searched it, the place in the closet he chose for his cuddling spot, until he felt comfortable. I was really lucky from day one, and ever since, but especially from the fist day that he approved of me and made his first biscuits on me.
I really wanted to give back all the love that surrounded me, but I had to learn patience and how to give and take all the feelings and the love. I had to learn to give time and be grateful for every moment this magical creature felt more and more safe near me.
Cats teach you the art of boundaries. They show you, without shame, to what extent you can approach them. They teach you how to win intimacy, day by day. They teach you how to build strong relationships.
Stelios was a cat with no fears, as he came to me after a loving and caring family, so he didn’t know pain and fear. After a year together, I started to feel bad that he was all day by himself, while I was at work, so I decided to bring him company! So, that’s how Sugar entered our life. Now, our home was the paradise of sweetness. Unfortunately, our little Sugar wasn’t as lucky as Stelios during her first years in life. She didn’t live with a family before, so it was her first time having one, and my first time having to take care of two furry babies. It was like the Bermuda triangle in our home! Sugar was a scared cute girl. If she could speak, her moto would be “yes i want, but I am also scared, but I’ll do it anyway”. And every day, she dares a little more, she never gives up! I have never seen in my life, a creature to claim with such persistence what she wants, even if she has to sit on my keyword, while I’m working. If I tell her 10 times to go, she will come 11 times. When Sugar felt familiar with the home and the tenants, she decided that she is the queen and we are the servants that let us live with her. She gives away her purring, that sounds like a helicopter, fully satisfied, and when she comes to earn her cuddles, her saliva falling is like tears of joy.
These two creatures entered my life and changed it. I observed them, I understood what they had to tell me and I did my best to become the best parent for them. They gave me laughter, careness, consolation and love. I made the decision for us to live under the same roof, after a lot of thought and sense of responsibility.
The common life isn’t only purring and funny moments, but also obstacles. There were times of illness, that it was my turn to be scared, to run to a doctor, to give them their medicines, to stay up all night, to clean. Exactly what someone would do for their family.
Nothing among the bad things that happened (they were few), couldn’t compare to the day my Stelios ,while being a grandpa, crossed the rainbow bridge. My heart knows.. it was something I knew from the beginning, love has a cost that would be expensive. But I chose it, and I would choose it again 100 times, because it deserved all the tears and pain. He took care of it after everything he gave me.
Cats are misunderstood creatures, even though that is something you hear all the time. They won’t turn their belly for pets immediately, like a dog. They will make you work to earn this privilege. To work with yourself. And while you become one with your true self, you start to understand their value. They will fill your home with fur, and you -in your turn- will fill the home with self-adhesive rolls. They will demand your full attention and then they will go to sit under the sun by themselves. They won’t hesitate to put you in your place and they will give their love because you deserve it. They will heal you and they will make you a better person, if from your side, you know the responsibility you take.
I wish every person that wants to adopt a cat, go do it with this knowledge. Then, it is certain that, like me, they will take the best decision of their lives!
