Coconut the Cat
By: Sloane Yates
We walked into the building of Pets in Need. It was a nice periwinkle blue with a darker, shaded, flat roof. There were windows that showed sleeping cats and energetic dogs. It gave off a nice atmosphere, and made me more excited to welcome a new, furry friend into our lives.
We went to the front desk, and explained we were looking for a new kitty friend.We weren’t looking for more than one, that's all we can handle, but a LITTLE part of me wanted to befriend them all, though I knew we could never take in that many.
“We have cats to the right, and dogs to the left,” the front desk person said.
“We’re just looking at cats,” said my mom.
“Then let's start by looking right over here!” said the front desk person, as they started walking over to all the cats.
We walked around for a little while, and there were a lot of cats around the room. There was one white cat with black spots, one long-haired brown cat with black stripes, and a gray cat. They brought us into the “try-out” room, where you go and spend time with them to see if the cat is the right fit.
Eventually two little tabby cat kittens came into the room. They let the brother cat hang out with us first, and I was suddenly feeling pretty optimistic. He walked right up to us and was rubbing us. He was very playful, and wouldn’t stop purring! His fur was soft and sleek, and I enjoyed petting him. Then they brought his sister in, and she seemed just as friendly! Her purr was kind of loud, and she was sniffing us. We gave her some treats.
“So, what do you think?” asked my mom.
“They were both really friendly. I like the idea of having a small cat,” I replied.
In the end we decided on getting the sister, whose name was Dotty. While mom was signing some papers, I went back to the cube-like cage where the female cat was, along with her brother. I stepped closer to her and put one of my hands up to wave at the kitty. She stretched up, putting both her paws on the glass, and tried to sniff my hands through the holes. It made me very happy.
On the ride home, I was pleasantly surprised that Dotty was doing well in the car. We were a little worried that she would get nauseous, like our other cat, but she was doing great.
At home, we unpacked our stuff. Once we got settled, we put her carrier on the floor and unzipped the door. She cautiously stepped out, then immediately crawled under the couch. We moved it a little, but she kept crawling back. So we decided to make her a little setup in my studio, which was next to the couch. My art studio has a white desk in the corner with art supplies and a whiteboard. Against the other wall it had a rocking chair and a lamp in the corner, then lastly it had a white cube-shaped shelf with LEGOs in it. We put her bed in the corner with the rocking chair, and hoped she would explore it in her own time. During the day, she basically wouldn’t leave my art studio. She would sit in the corner and peek her head out sometimes, but that's pretty much it. Sometimes I would go sit on the carpet with her, trying to make her more comfortable.
But then, we started noticing her exploring the house at night, and gradually she would explore during the day when it was quiet. Soon after, she was sitting under my rocking chair one night. But it didn’t seem all that comfortable, so before we went to bed, I picked her up carefully and put her in the bed. She stayed there for a while. This made me happy, because it seemed like she trusted me more. She eventually got used to us picking her up, and she didn’t mind us petting her, and now she even sits in bed with us sometimes! She stays with us pretty much all day, she likes attention.
I saw her the next day in her bed, in an arch sort of shape. I thought she kind of looked like a coconut because her belly was white, and her outer markings were dark brown, like a coconut. So we decided to name her Coconut, but Coco for short.
Some funny moments of Coco were the few times she would sit in the little gray mail basket that catches the mail. It was just the right size for her!
I thought this was important to share because for all my life, I’ve had a cat.
I used to have a cat named Fiona.. My parents got her before I was born, and she was very gentle with me, and was never aggressive towards us. She was the sweetest, we got Coco after her. I’ve pretty much always loved cats, I’m now better at drawing them, haha! I’m even reading a 26 book long series about cats. Cats are just what I’ve come to know, and love. :)
