How A Door Left Open Turned Me Into A Cat Dad
For some quick context, growing up I always came from a dog family. My dad was allergic so we never had cats around. I didn't have many experiences with cats growing up or into my adulthood. In general though, I'm a massive animal lover all around. I never had anything against cats, just never had the opportunity to see and understand what it's like to be around one.
Recently, I moved into a triplex with my sister. It's an old house that needs tons of work. We rent out to a couple of tenants. I love the location of the place. It's a 10 minute walk from my work and logistically in one of the best spots to be in within the Bay Area. One thing I noticed about this neighbor when I first moved in was the true abundance of cats. It seems like every house on my block has one, my neighbor directly across has four that he activity "meows" to every day. There's a litany of them, all shapes and sizes.
One day, roughly two months ago, I helped my sister work on the extra unit as we prepared for new tenants to move in. Before going up, I noticed a very tiny looking orange cat hanging out. I had seen the same orange cat the day prior under my sisters car. Within this neighborhood of cats there would be some that would periodically come over, either scoping the area out or enjoying the yard set up we have. Often times sleeping on some of the outdoor furniture. Almost every time I tried petting one they'd run off. But this orange one was a bit different. She came right up to me and let me pet her. When I came back downstairs from the unit, she was still sitting there waiting. I pet her again and went inside my unit to grab some tools. I guess I hadn't closed the door, when I returned she was roaming around my house.
Now because I had zero knowledge on anything cat related I didn't exactly know what to do. First thing I did was email my neighborhood thread, initially I assumed it was one of theirs. I even left my door wide open for her to leave whenever wanted. Nobody knew anything about her or claimed her as theirs. In fact, they told me there's a chance she's mine now. That the cat had "chosen me". I wasn't about to just put the cat outside not knowing whose it is or without seeing the state of the cat. Two things I noticed right away, she was very little and very skinny. She wasn't a kitten but clearly under a year (closer to 9 months). She had no collar on either. Her behavior lead me to believe she belonged to someone considering how affectionate she was towards a human but all other signs pointed to her being a stray.
Obviously, I had no cat food on me. What I did have was some leftover dog kibble and un-sweated oat milk (I regularly watch my family's dogs). She wolfed down a lot of food. She had clearly been without any for a decent period of time. After eating she was hyper affectionate. She'd follow me everywhere I went... EVERYWHERE. She even slept on my lap her first night there. She appeared she bonded with me rather quickly.
All this being said, I had zero plans to actually own a cat. In fact, I had plans to adopt a dog as soon as August started. I had already been looking around. What I didn't want to do though was abandon this cat without knowing if it had a home. The next day I left the cat outside as I went to work, I wasn't about to leave a potential stray cat in my apartment for a full work day. You see, the idea of actually adopting this cat didn't strike my mind but as the night went on it became a legitimate consideration. The cat was almost obnoxiously cute and was pretty young, all while creating this bond with me pretty quickly. I told myself if the cat stays at my house as I'm gone I'd consider keeping her.
While I was at work, I kept thinking about this cat. I was telling clients about her, how she just came inside and wouldn't leave. How she just came right up to me. They told me the same story my neighbors did, she chose me. While I was at work, my mom had been doing gardening at the house for my sister. She told me the cat had been lurking around my unit all day. I stopped by 7/11 on the way home to at least get some real cat food in case she had decided to stay put. Sure enough when I got there, she was waiting for me. I couldn't even get to the driveway before she came up to me. It was in that moment the situation began to feel very real.
As stated, I had no prior knowledge to anything about cats. I didn't know their behavior, how to train them, what they eat, when they eat, where they sleep etc. I was essentially starting was ground zero. One thing I still needed to do was see if she had a chip on the off chance she was someone else's. The drive to the vet made me anxious as if this could be the last day with her. A huge wave of relief hit me when they couldn't find one. I subsequently got her all the shots needed while we were there and made sure she was all squared. Even getting her spayed went well. The vet also confirmed my speculation that she was around nine months old.
What really made me gravitate towards this cat the most was the way she behaved. Because of how other cats in the neighborhood are, I assumed most cats were relatively standoffish. She's extremely unique in a lot of ways but overall how calm and relaxed she always is was very eye raising. I took her in the car to the vet and she didn't mind it at all, just at on my lap the whole time. I had her in a backpack crate when I arrived and she didn't even make a sound. She never bites or shows her teeth to me or anyone for that matter. She's very gentle and likes human interaction in general. Undoutably low maintenance overall.
I didn't realize this next part was semi-controversial until speaking with one of my clients but she is a fully hybrid indoor/outdoor cat. I give her full freedom to enjoy the yard and do her thing. She never drifts off. She never runs away. She doesn't even like really leaving the property. Because of our yard set up, there's some neighborhood cats that come by and hang out. She clearly enjoys their company and spends time with them outside sitting in the sun napping. It's evident she's extremely loyal. My apartment isn't exactly that big, it's a one bedroom with some breathing room but I think it would overall be a bit small for her. Giving her the luxury of going outside keeps her very happy. Another luxury for me, besides a couple times in the first week, has never gone bathroom inside. She almost instinctually knew to always go outside. I don't even have a litter box set up. I purchased one but she never went inside again after so I didn't exactly want to incentivize to start going inside.
(for anyone wondering, the car traffic is very low on my street and I'm at the top regardless. It's a steep incline residential street. Nobody even goes over 10 MPH. According to the neighbors no cat has ever been ran over or hunted by other animals here)
Overall, it's been an amazing journey so far. One thing that hit me hard was knowing how long I'd have this cat for. I'm 27 years old. I'm gonna have this cat into my 40s. That's a wild thought! The universe works in mysterious ways. Weeks away from getting a dog and end up with a "OneOrangeBraincell" and I'm very thankful for it. She chose me and I chose her. In case you were wondering, I named her Satara. Same name given to the new Lion at my local Zoo. It means "star" (also her nickname). Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I didn't leave my door open.