It was the 20th of March, the International Day of Happiness that a part of my life changed forever. Pink Star came to my home. An adult 3-year-old cat. During winter his fur becomes a little pinky and during summer becomes blonder. If he wasn’t already named, I would name him Simba, like the little lion. Usually, no one enters our life without a reason. And my Star came to satisfy a wish I had since I was little, to have a pet. I accomplished it at 39 years old. Until then, I loved animals a lot but I didn’t grow up with one and I was always worried if I would make it.
I adopted Asteri while being an adult because I wanted to know his personality, as I am away from home a lot, and I wouldn’t have the chance to spend the necessary time that a small cat would need in addition to me being an inexperienced cat-mom. This is a good part for me to say that I always wanted a dog, but a few months before I met Asteri, life brought to me another adult cat, Princess, and the love that she gave me was therapeutic. So, I decided to move with the adoption of my own cat. And I speak about adoption, as I am against buying animals. In addition, there are so many animals out there, waiting for us to open our homes, as a friend of mine says.
It took me a little to make up my mind, sometimes I was stressed, if a cat would be a burden, if I would understand the needs of my pet without having previous knowledge, if my neighbors would have a problem and other things that make us have ambivalent feelings. But I moved steadily. I spoke with friends who have pets and I had contact with them, but most importantly, I got in touch with Glyfada’s SPAZ (Society for the Protection of Stray Animals). The cat – social workers (as I like to tell them), helped me a lot to think seriously if I can respond to an adoption, as well as how to prepare my home. They are beside me from day one, we talk all the time for everything I need or everything that concerns me (from a sneeze to the problem of where I’ll leave him while I am going on vacation). I can’t fully express my gratitude to Tzela and Fofi, who are in charge of the cats of SPAZ. They take care of me and Asteris, in order to enjoy the life we share for 4 months now.
My pink little star is an amazing creature. He is calm, he doesn’t do damages, he is trained regarding the toilet and the food and he doesn’t stop there! Every passing day he coordinates with my schedule and he comes even closer to me if I show respect to him and to his way of living. The love he gives me back is therapeutic, as I previously mentioned. He makes my home look full and with plenty of laughs. His purring warms my heart and takes away not only the daily stress but also the general stress of life. He is keeping me alert because I have to take care of him. And I enjoy it. I don’t get tired and he doesn’t gross me out, firstly because he is really clean but also because he is mine, just like our children or our over aged parents, in terms of daily hygiene. My people, even the most suspicious, are excited with him and they always ask what he is doing, they want to have video calls with him and to meet him. And Asteris, as much as he trusts me, he also responds to other people.
If you want to adopt a cat but you are skeptical because of the time needed, adopt an adult cat from a shelter. Not from the road if you are inexperienced. They will be beside you, they will find you a cat that suits your personality and daily life. Be sure that these people are really experienced and they’ll do the right match, something that you’ll be seeing everyday with your little baby at home.
As I’m writing this, Asteris is beside me, because now he follows me everywhere, and he enjoys the warmth of his new home. Then, he’ll get up, he’ll play and he’ll do all the cute faces we see in photos. Also, I will take care of his food, his toilet, his silky fur (it’s summer now so the fur is blonde), so he’ll feel safe and loved. Then I’ll go out calm, because I know because he can stay alone at home for a few hours, safe, playing with his toys and without destroying the home. Then, at night, he’ll come and sleep on my legs, a habit that I cultivated because I wanted to have him inside my room. In the morning, he’ll wake up ten minutes before the alarm, he’ll meows, he’ll sit patiently until I wake up and then he’ll do some stretches and we’ll start our day with hugs for good morning. I am looking at him and I am smiling… I get emotional because I offer him a good life and he is saving my soul. Happiness is a two way road.
Konstantina Dionisopoulou