My two cats, Vincent, male, two and a half years old, and Lavanda, female, 9 months old, were curled up together on the sofa, and I overheard their conversation.
Vincent was grooming Lavanda’s ears, and she asked him, “Did you always live with our people-Mom?”
“No,” Vincent replied. “She wasn’t my first human.”
“How did you come to live with her, then?” Lavanda asked, snuggling into Vincent’s neck.
“A man and a woman were looking for their lost kitten and came upon me wandering the streets. I was very young then, maybe 4 months old. They found their kitten and decided to take me home to live with them, too. The other kitten was very pretty, but she didn’t like me. I think they called her Bila. Bila was always angry with me.”
“So, she didn’t let you groom her like I do?” Lavanda stretched her front legs over Vincent’s much larger tummy.
“No. I didn’t spend a lot of time at the man and woman’s house, except to eat. Our people-Mom was their neighbor, and I found her while roaming the rooftops and terraces with the other neighborhood cats,” Vincent recounted as he pulled Lavanda in closer to lick her face. “When I found our people-Mom, she already had an older cat and had lots of good food that she shared with me and the other terrace cats. That’s what she called us, The Terrace Cats.”
“I felt comfortable at her house. She let me jump up into her lap and sleep whenever I wanted. The man and woman I lived with ended up having to move far away, and our people-Mom decided I could live with her, since I was always there anyway,” Vincent purred. “Marty, that was her other cat, wasn’t very friendly, but he didn’t object to me being in the house. That was a different house than where we live today.”
“What happened to Bila?” Lavanda asked.
“Bila found another home, too. I hear that she’s happier now,” Vincent said between licks.
“One day, our people-Mom put Marty and me in carriers and took us to this house, where we live now.” Vincent rolled over onto his back.
“What happened to the other Terrace Cats?” Lavanda inquired with concern.
“They were a wild bunch. Our people-Mom tried to make friends with one, Creamy, but Creamy was Queen of The Terrace Cats and didn’t want to give up her rule over them. She decided to stay with The Terrace Cats,” Vincent replied.
“What happened to Marty?” asked Lavanda as she curled up against Vincent’s stomach.
“A couple months before you arrived, Marty died. He was old and sick, so I understand why he was so grumpy. It was hard on our people-Mom, but I made sure to comfort her when she was sad. You were young when you came here. Do you remember your life before us?” Vincent asked as he stretched his back legs to their full length.
“I don’t remember a lot. I was very little,” Lavanda said wistfully as she also stretched out. “I was alone with my brother when a lady found us. We were scared and hungry. She took us home with her, but she had a lot of other cats to take care of. It was better than being on our own, though, and we had other cats to play with—and food.”
“My brother left to live with someone else. Then one day, the lady wrapped me up in her jacket and we left the house. She walked with me down to a large plaza with lots of people. I remember smelling gorditas and tacos. That’s where I first met our people-Mom. She put me in a carrier and brought me here.” Lavanda started grooming Vincent’s neck.
“I didn’t know where I was going, or what was going to happen. Then all of a sudden, I was here and I met you. You were so much bigger than me. I thought you were going to eat me,” Lavanda said as she playfully bit Vincent’s neck.
“Not a chance. I prefer regular cat food. I was just happy to finally have someone to play with,” Vincent growled while tackling Lavanda.
In a flash, Lavanda wriggled loose and scampered up the stairs with Vincent running after her.