Befriending a Cat

I haven't been having the opportunity to stay at home for longish amounts of time nowadays. Between taking care of the family business and having to spend time in the hospital where my Dad has been comatose for two weeks now, I really don't have that much of a choice. In happier days, I would've said that the present situation is nothing short of sucks - but apparently I'm not that selfish of a person after all(!) and that I'm actually willing to make sacrifices such as letting go, for a short while mind, of the comforts of home and willing myself to spend more time outside the house not just for my family's but my own benefit as well.

Before all this drama happened, I have already been noticing a white tomcat who had been lounging in our porch mostly in the afternoons and evenings. I'm not particularly territorial myself and neither do I find the presence of cats as a nuisance so I said to myself: yeah sure, why not. Let him sleep there if that's we wants. He's not leaving "leavings" on our chairs, he's very tame and doesn't hiss at me, and having a cat around is a nice deterrence for rats and other pests. Besides, I love cats! And I probably would've already adopted that cat then and there but my parents (who are the owners of the house after all) do not like animals and so one has to adhere to their rules -- well at least with the matter of cats. =P

But nowadays, with my Dad needing to spend more time in the hospital and my Mom needing to stay there as well to look after him, I am mostly alone in the house at night when I come home. Sure I am a loner and enjoys being one, but sometimes even the most lonesome of loners prefer to have the company of others from time to time.

It was when arriving home one night when on the "Welcome" mat before our front door, there sits he again -- the white cat. With cats being territorial and having a keen sense of their environment, Mr. Cat probably noticed that his territory seems to have become a little quieter than it used to. He might have noticed that the talk and the noise in his territory seem to have died down. And noticing these things, he probably decided to lie down right at the entrance of our home, to stand guard, provide a semblance of protection to a suddenly become empty house.

Probably out of my own loneliness, it was then that I decided to befriend the cat. I was of course very appreciative that while we are away, he has been sitting there, standing guard, keeping the bad things away. I went inside, opened a can of sardines, put the contents on a plate, and took it outside. He wasn't there anymore, of course. He scooted away when I arrived but I was hoping that the smell of sardines would convince him to come back. I left the plate of sardines there, on top of the mat, closed to door so that he wouldn't be spooked to come near and eat the offering, then I myself went up to my bedroom to get some much needed rest.

The next day soon as I woke up, I went outside to see if he ate the food. And much to my delight, he did! But knowing cats, that's just but "hello". One won't endear himself that easily to a cat -- with a single can of sardines. No, sir. It would take more than THAT to become acquainted with a cat, let alone become his friend. Nevertheless, this is something that I wish to pursue. I've promised myself that every time I come home at night, I'll provide him with food. And hopefully with such perseverance, I'll make myself a new and totally awesome friend.

Befriending a cat is only the first step. To name a cat -- that would take a lot of effort on my side before I become even worthy of giving him one. But in the very fortunate event that he decides to befriend me as well, I've already decided on a name. I've decided to call him Schlüssel, that means key, a name which I think is only fitting for a cat who likes to sleep outside our front door and who, himself, has also opened another door that has led me out of the darkness of my current situation and opened up for me an existence that has more hope. =)