Her Path For Me

Ten years ago this day, my first cat, Tungsten, died. Though I remembered her, with all the others who had gone on before, just in February, I wanted to take a moment to remember the tiny terror’s effect on my life. Her effect was profound, in that it was deep, and directional, and lasting. It was she who set me on the road of cats.

I had, I think, intended to have just the one. After a year and a half, though, I thought she might be lonely, so I brought in Josie. They did not initially get along. That was my first experience of integration. I was not good at it. Then, I thought that I could foster a cat. After all, I had the space in my apartment. The first foster, Lincoln, was adopted quickly. That was misleading in that most foster-cats are not chosen for a permanent home so swiftly, but it led to my fostering others. Some of those I chose to adopt. Tucker and Renn came along to form, with Tungsten and Josie, the First Four.

Other cats followed; some I adopted, some I fostered until others adopted them, some I fostered until they died. There were always more. In the meantime, I became involved in cat-rescue, volunteering at events and fund-raisers, designing posters and composing the newsletter for the rescue-group.

I have, since Tungsten, taken in more than thirty cats; a small number compared to some, but all due to the first. I think always in terms of cats now. When I moved - three times since then - I thought of how the new home would affect the cats; when I go out anywhere - a rarity - I think of the cats’ care during my absence; I cat-proof cupboards and doors - usually after I’m shown they need cat-proofing. When I hear others talk of cats, I think to myself of how the cat in question is being treated, what is being done right or wrong, by what passes for my knowledge on the subject.

My spare time is spent with cats, feeding them, playing with them, cleaning up after them, and I advocate for cats and animals in general much more than I used to.

This is the road that Tungsten put me on when I adopted her in 2007, and the road I have been on since she died in 2015. The effect of a little creature, never much heavier than three kilograms, has been surprising, even startling. And it’s not finished yet.