Intuitive

Marius was sick while we were in Pune. His main symptom was unfortunately diarrhea. Being a baby, he didn’t really know how to keep his backside clean, so it wound up chapped and sore (TMI, I know, but bear with me). I had to clean him up a couple of times, which involved holding his poor little bum in a bucket of warm water. Of course, this was not a pleasant experience for him. Warm water on raw skin is never a nice feeling. And bathing a cat under the best circumstances is not easy. I’ve wound up with some lovely cuts (sarcasm there, I’m actually not a fan of pain…) after bathing cats.

But Marius was different. Even being a baby, he still knew that I was the person that he liked, and he didn’t want to hurt me. So even as he was crying and wiggling around trying to get out of the water, he was very careful with his teeth and claws. He used his back feet against my hands to try to push himself out of the water, but was very gentle, and careful to not dig in too much, even though that meant he couldn’t actually push himself out of the water. At times, when it hurt more, he’d turn, growling, with his mouth wide open to bite my hand. Before he chomped down on a finger though, he paused, as though realizing what he was about to bite. Then he stopped and turned away, without touching my hand at all. He did this several times, which showed more control than I have ever seen in a kitten.

After the bath, when Marius was chilly, wet, and upset, all he wanted was a long cuddle. He climbed right up my chest and burrowed his nose into my neck like, “Hide me, Mom… the whole world hates me.” He knew that I was the one who just stuck him in the water, but he still wanted to be comforted by me. And of course, this made me feel like an even worse human being for being the one to hurt him, even though I knew it was what he needed.

A while later, after Marius was healthy once again, I fell sick. It was a very short lived sickness, one that only last about 12 hours. I was dizzy and nauseous. Any time I moved, I felt as though I would throw up, though I never actually did. Night was the worst though. I was very tired, as one often is when sick, so I went to bed. But sleep didn’t come.

I’ve only had one other night such as that one, which was a night when I had a bad reaction to my malaria medicine several years ago. I ached all over as though I had the flu, still felt nauseous, and even if I did get a little sleep, it was full of vivid dreams and not refreshing in the least.

We were in Ooty when this happened. It was cold, and at bedtime, Marius usually dove under the covers and snuggled down, focused on his own contentment. This time, he didn’t go under the covers at all, but stayed on top of them, snuggled firmly against my shoulder. Marius also typically slept the night through, cuddling up against me in his sleep, but not really waking unless he needed a drink of water or some such. But this night, he seemed very attentive to what I was doing. I would wake up, feeling feverish and achy and like I couldn’t breathe properly. Sometimes I’d toss and turn, trying to get some sort of position that was relatively comfortable, but other times, I’d barely move at all. Any way that I woke though, whether I moved or was still, Marius woke too. He’d grab my face with his paw, and start cleaning it very gently. Then he’d often drape himself across my neck and finish cleaning my face, then lay there on my neck until I fell asleep. It doesn’t sound like it would help too much, but somehow, it made it much easier to fall asleep. The next time I woke, Marius would be back by my shoulder, ready to help me back to sleep once more.

I’ve never had such an intelligent, intuitive kitten before. Perhaps it comes from his upbringing, and the fact that he’s spent nearly 24/7 with me since the day that I found him. Maybe he is just brilliant. Oh, he still has plenty of kittenish naughtiness when he wants to, but that’s what makes him interesting. I probably would have claimed before to be a dog person, but really, species makes no difference. Anyone I can connect with like this makes me happy.

Of course, then he falls in love with a cow pie and I have to wonder how smart he really is...

Not So Artful Dodger

I wasn’t looking for a new dog. If I was, I would already have one. There were some awfully adorable little street pups that I saw in the last couple of weeks. I sort of toyed with the idea that it would be fun to take another puppy home. But I had Marius. And, trust me, one mental little cat is all one really needs to deal with.

But then, again, I was not looking for a cat when I found that crazy kitten. And I was not looking for a dog when I found Cosette last year. These things sort of happen. And, while it may not be perfect timing for ease of life, it is perfect timing for what I need. Ease is not always the most important thing in life.

Leaf and Marius trying to decide if it was safe to play together. 

I shouldn’t have even been in Hyderabad at the time. Things have switched around so much, and I’ve been a little annoyed by all of that (though, I’ve been handling the changes a lot better than I normally would, just ask my Mom.). This night though, I was particularly cross. I needed to try to get a taxi and plan my lodging, and the internet wasn’t working, so I had to go find a place to use the internet. The first place I went was closed, and they sort of vaguely motioned toward another place where I could get internet. I wasn’t entirely certain where the guy meant, and I didn’t feel like crossing the busy street 8 times to figure it out. So I continued down the same side of the street to see what I could find there. I was in my own little world, earbuds in my ears, thinking about life. And then I saw this tiny shape in the middle of the road, up against the median. I couldn’t see details in the glare of the headlights but I could tell that it was a pretty small puppy.

It started forward, desperate to cross the road, but chose a bad time to go. I couldn’t figure out how whether to look away or keep watching when I realized the motorcycle was most definitely too close to her, and there was nothing I could do about it. I ended up watching sort of through half closed eyes. I did not want to see a puppy die, but I did want to give her the dignity of having someone who cared, at least once.

The motorcycle hit the puppy a glancing blow to her right shoulder. It didn’t even tumble her, but she was now hurt and scared, which did not make it any easier to cross the road. She held her paw up, crying so loudly that my earbuds didn’t block it out. Spinning around in circles, she almost ran into the path of another bike, then went the other direction, and ended up in the path of a car. She was panicked, and wouldn’t last much longer.

As soon as there was a gap in traffic big enough that I would not simply end up also hit by a vehicle, I ran out and scooped the puppy into my arms. She still had her paw up, and was crying at the top of her lungs. A little melodramatic, but given her experiences, she was well within her rights. She snuggled tight against me, immediately trusting me. 

I had a short mental debate. My folks were not at all pleased when I told them that I was bringing a kitten home. How would it be if I said that I was bringing a puppy? What could I do with her? But really, what can one do, with a puppy one has pulled out of traffic? Is it really such an easy choice to just turn it loose once again? Not for me, it wasn’t. The easier choice, despite the difficulties I knew it would cause, was to take the puppy with me. So that’s what I did, though my brain made it very clear to me that I was insane.

I thought for a moment to name her Eponine, to go along with Marius and Cosette, but decided I wasn’t really interested in continuing the Les Mis names. Once you start, how do you figure out where to stop? So her name is Leaf, which comes from a book series that my Dad and I love to read. And somehow, the name really fits her.

In the 2 days that I have had Leaf, she has gone from being a frightened puppy who wanted to be friends, but followed me around hesitantly, tail wagging as though she was asking me not to hit her, to a puppy who plays with her brother Marius, and takes naps with him, and tries to gnaw on my leg no matter how many times I give her a different chewy. 

They're learning to be friends :~)

Leaf is beautiful and sweet, and a heck of a lot of trouble. I wish it wasn’t so difficult to get her home, but I don’t regret my decision to take her. I just hope things work smoothly to take her.