So, I full on fucking believe this.
September of 2021, I move into a place with a roommate who has a cat. Itty bitty black cat. While she runs away from most people, she'll run up to me. Rub up against my leg, reach up my leg leaning up, be all kinds of cute. But I spend most of my time out or in my room with the door shut. Whenever I go into the hall the cat comes running. Love her to death.
Christmas of 2023. My roommate decides to go out to see a friend and leaves me to take care of the cat. No problem at all. Realized in that moment just how badly my roommate was taking care of the cat. My bedroom door ends up being open the whole holiday because I don't need privacy with the roommate gone. Cat is all over me. Hangs out next to me as much as possible, rubs up against me all the time and is super sweet. Tons of slow blinks. I fall in love with her.
In those couple of weeks I realized that the cat is autistic in the same ways I am, has ADHD in the same ways I do, and is both DESPERATE for physical love and attention (roommate gave very little) but also was kind of uncomfortable with touch and would shy away from it after initiating it. Tons of small quirks beyond that too but she just felt like a little feline me. The love I had for her when moving in was always strong but now her being beside me and stuff... I would die for her and do anything for her.
Roommate blind sides me on Boxing day with a text saying she's moving and I have to as well. When she comes back, the cat gets put back in the living room or roommates room most of the time and becomes noticably depressed. Roommate also flip flops on whether or not she can take the cat. Eventually, I tell roommate that if she says I can take her one more time, I am taking her. This is like the 8th time and emotionally I cannot handle being super happy and then super sad. She says I can take her one more time. She doesn't flip flop back.
Now, over a year later, my little girl is sat next to me and looking out my office window while purring quietly. I renamed her Una. Both her and I have changed our names now and both for the same reason. Our original name gives us anxiety because we had it yelled at us so much.
I seriously started treating Una like she was a smaller me and it was insane how easy it was to 'figure eachother out' in that regard.
Cat Tax:
