To celebrate International Cat Day (which is today, August 8, 2020), we bring you a story about a hooman daddy and his three cats.
(Click on a photo to start the slideshow.)
Michael Stuart Williams welcomed Winston, a long-haired, cream-colored Persian cat, into his home when the kitten was 3 months old.
The new daddy described Winston as a very sweet, gentle, affectionate, and playful cat but when he was quiet, he was like an absentminded old man. Daddy said, “Winston was very loyal. He always wanted to be around me.”
A month later, they were joined by a pure white, long-haired Persian cat named Kitty. She too was 3 months old when she came into the home. All white with greenish-golden eyes, she had the regal bearing of a legendary Hollywood movie star. Aloof and very particular, she moved around the condo with elegance and grace while keeping the males at a distance. She didn’t want unsolicited attention, and deigned to accept it only on her own terms. It took Winston and Michael some time to earn her favor.
Kitty was a bit tense around Winston in the beginning. He wanted to play; she didn’t. He didn’t understand why not; she didn’t understand why. It took about a week before things settled down between them. Winston was a persistent charmer who knew the art of gentle persuasion. So it was just a matter of time for the surrender. When Kitty fell, she fell hard.
They became inseparable. Michael noticed that they would do things together—eat together, go to the kitty litter together, play together, rest together in each other’s embrace. There was no such thing as social distancing between Kitty and Winston.
When Daddy was home, the two cats very graciously included him in their golden circle unless they were busy with their own cat activities. If this was the case then hooman was able to do some work from home. But if they wanted attention, work had to stop. In their minds, they came first in the order of things.
Winston battled a congenital condition all his life. Due to a slight deformity he had from birth, he had chronic urinary tract infection. Sometimes it was very difficult for him, and it was also torture for daddy. But Winston endured the pain like a stoic. Quietly. Patiently. His gentle disposition gave him that kind of strength.
Then the day came when that strength gave out. Winston passed away in the vet’s clinic.
Michael said, “He had been there for a few days by then. Kitty would pace and although she was usually quiet, after days of not seeing Winston she would start to wail as if calling out for him. This behavior got more pronounced when I would have to go to work. I could hear her in the hallway as I waited for the elevator. It broke my heart each time. There was really nothing I could do except spend time with her when I was home and to make sure that my house help was with her as often and for as long as possible when I was at work. Eventually she settled and I supposed she got used to being on her own in the flat without Winston.”
Kitty and Michael went through a period when both were inconsolable. There was an emptiness that both of them deeply felt.
And then something happened that disrupted their grieving.
Albert came into their lives. A friend sent him when she heard about Winston’s passing and how broken up Michael was about the loss.
He was fluff—all tawny, cream and caramel with huge honey gold eyes and tabby markings. He looked like a soft and cuddly ball of fur. But his energy was a pure and powerful light that could cut through any resistance like a hot knife through butter. The hooman didn’t stand a chance.
Michael laughingly said, “He is a marmalade exotic short-haired Persian—with the funniest personality. You know the Garfield comic strip character? You’d swear it was patterned after this guy.”
If there was someone who helped Daddy and Kitty heal, then it was none other than Albert.
Albert cheered Michael up with his quirky charisma and his goofy mug. He made Kitty forget her sadness because she hated him. She stayed away from him as far away as she could at the opposite side of the room, always hissing at him.
Michael recounted, “It was partly the age difference between them. He was 3 months old and naughty. And she was already about 3 years old by then. She thought he was annoying.
“They’ve just recently settled into a nice friendship. They play-chase each other now. Kitty takes a play-swipe at him when he crosses her. And Albert loves poking her from beneath her favorite table where she sleeps.
“They now eat next to each other and they sometimes switch food bowls (I really don’t know what that’s about). I’ve seen Kitty allow Albert to eat first—although she has her own food bowl. I used to see her do this with Winston. She waited till he finished eating before she took her turn.
“Kitty and Albert do a lot of nose to nose sniffing now and I’ve seen them resting calmly about a foot away from each other on my bed. That’s the closest they’ve come to each other. I’ve also seen Kitty swipe at one of Albert’s toys when she thought no one was looking. Ha ha ha.
“I think soon Kitty will come around. I think she’ll realize that there is no way to keep from falling in love with Albert such as he is and when we remember how gentle and loving Winston was—we know that he wouldn’t mind at all.”
The Purrfect Color Palette from Michael’s Meow Mates
Life has its ups and downs. If like me you’re guilty of doomscrolling (a verb that @socialstoryco describes as “a self-destructive act of incessantly scrolling through bottomless bad news for hours as you sink into a pool of despair’), then this heartwarming tale can help lift your spirits.
Give thanks for your fur babies who give you comfort and joy during these difficult times.
For Michael, it started with cream and sugar, and then marmalade came to sweeten it up even more.
Let this color palette remind you that love conquers all. In times when you feel like you are spinning in the chaos, remember this restful and relaxing monochromatic color palette of Winston, Kitty, and Albert, and their wondrous journey with their hooman.
Many thanks to Daddy Michael for sharing their cat tales.
For another cat-inspired post, click this link.