BeaBea and DomDom

 

Our very first foster couple were siblings BeaBea and DomDom.DomDom was white with a striped ginger tail and a few ginger spots dotted around his body, BeaBea was a classic calico, or is it Tortoiseshell - I'm always confused. Tricolour, anyway.

DomDom was perhaps the runt of the litter – very small, shy, and sickly. In a way, DomDom was our great learning curve. For example, he taught us how the delicate ones have to be handled. Delicately, it turns out😉. Delicately, but with conviction. I don't think I'd ever actually held anyone that small and frail before in my life. So I felt a bit like a bull in a china shop, afraid I might accidentally break him or somehow make him even sicker than he already was. However, I quickly realised that he needed me to be assertive, as this would make him feel safe, so I threw aside my self-doubt and decided to go with the flow. Let him guide me, so to speak. And ultimately he probably became my confidence guru in the world of felines.

They together taught us that cats really enjoy cleaning not only themselves, but also each other. (Later on, we’d frequently have groups of kittens come to us with really dirty ears, which would end up squeaky clean after a couple of days of mutual grooming sessions.) BeaBea regularly performed her sisterly grooming rituals on our laps.

I know cats have a reputation of being aloof, uncaring, and often indifferent, but a lot of it is owing to our limited understanding of cats, and seeing everything through our anthropocentric goggles, of course. For example, we often think that our cats lick their coat immediately after we have stroked them because that interaction has made them feel dirty, if not outright disgusted. But we are only projecting our own, very human, prejudices and aversions onto the cat, while our cats are simply gathering information by having a wee nibble at whatever particles we've left behind on their coat. And my limited experience in their company has shown that, on the contrary, once they accept you, or a fellow feline, or a member of another species as their own, they are first and foremost caring. And they like company, especially of other cats. So they inevitably end up sleeping in one another’s embrace, even if there are two beds each available to them. And once they get to know us, they tend to like us. Yes, you could cynically say that it’s only because we feed them. To an extent it’s true, sure (just as children like their parents because they feed them, right?), but we also shower them with love, and they appreciate the hell out of that – by coming back for more and more cuddles or belly rubs, or purring as soon as they feel your hand touch their back, or jumping on the window as soon as they hear your car pull up on the driveway. You know, these little subconscious gestures of appreciation and affection.

It was difficult to find BeaBea and DomDom homes for a long time. For different reasons – timing, primarily (it was coming up to Xmas, and there’s a certain understandable reluctance on part of animal welfare groups to let people adopt kittens/puppies as Xmas presents); but also, although we found them irresistible, most other people evidently didn’t. Of course, you can’t be liked by everyone.

Nonetheless, here I’d like to dispense some advice to potential future cat owners: do trust your gut when it tells you that you like a certain animal, but when it seems to tell you that you’re not keen on a particular kitten – be suspicious at least, if not completely dismissive of your gut’s notions! Because chances are, your mind will be changed. As you get to know the kitten and he/she you, you learn to appreciate, and love, each other’s idiosyncrasies. When we were first introduced to our first cat, out of that litter he was the one I felt I didn’t like. Today I know (and have known for over six years now) that he is the most beautiful cat in the world. Fact. A very subjective kind of fact, but still😉

So, what I’m trying to say is give the questionable beauties and cuties a chance! True beauty comes from within in humans, and the same goes for our feline friends. Believe you me. First impressions are shallow and often forgettable. Indeed, the ones that hiss and spit at you or look unappealing in the beginning will more than likely fill your heart with all kinds of fuzzy feelings in the end.