Preparing Her Path

Zofia has taken another step in her integration. This is, in fact, a step to help her in her future adoption. She is no longer confined to the library at night; she is free to go where she likes. And she does.

A cat in foster-care cannot spend a large portion of its time isolated from others, unless for a very specific reason. She needs to be out in the home, as she would be when she is adopted and, if there are other cats, she needs to know how to behave among them at all times; her foster-guardian needs to see and analyse that behaviour.

The first night that Zofia was on the loose, I did not sleep much. It’s as well that I am off work for a couple of weeks, and can catch up on my rest the next day. Zofia played – and played and played and played. Hector, who normally turns in when the rest of us do, felt inspired by the child’s actions and played with her. When little Miss Zed came to bed, she played some more: jumping on every movement I made under the bedclothes.

This has, fortunately, diminished with each night. The darkness, the lack of activity among the other beasts, and my own sleep – or attempts at it – seemed to have taught her more about the time and place for certain actions. Zofia still plays at night; sometimes Horace and Hector do, as well. I don’t mind that, and will drift off even with such vigour being heard in other rooms of the apartment. I actually like to know that the cats are enjoying themselves.

But eventually the various factors make themselves felt, and Zofia curls up for a nap. I am surprised that she spends little time on the bed with her big brothers. I have woken to find her there, a fourth cat to share the increasingly smaller surface area (Neville rarely sleeps there). More frequently, however, she is elsewhere; a cushioned seat of a dining table chair is a favoured location. The kitten is slowly learning the ways of living with others.

I think of this as Zofia preparing her path to her own household. As she enters her adolescence, she is, like a correspondingly aged human youngster, readying herself to leave home. Learning what to do when; how much to eat and at what times; when to play and how to play with others; growing used to adult humans, their routines, sounds and smells… One day, these lessons will stand her in good stead when she makes her own place in the world. It may be with one human or two, or a whole family; it may be as an only-cat, or with another, or several. But when the day comes, she will be ready, or as ready as one can be for so great an adventure.