I’ve never been a dog person. This is a combination of multiple things: my fear of dogs barking, my old neighbor’s obnoxious Chihuahua and scary big dog, and the fact that save for two fish who met an early death, I’ve never had a pet.

In a way, I grew up around dogs. Though my grandma’s dog died when I was in the first grade, all my three best friends in grade school had dogs, so I was around them frequently, much to my dismay.

Though I got more used to dogs, I still feel uneasy around them.

I never thought about getting a pet until I went on a cat Google search spree after a night with my friends. Reuniting with my Illinois friends reminded me of my friend’s cat, who sadly passed away towards the end of April. I met her a few times, and she was one of the factors that made me realize that I may be a cat person.

Over the week, I pored over adoption sites, making heart eyes at cute felines, and I watched far too much YouTube, both informative videos about cats and your classic viral cat videos.

A few days after my love of cats was ignited, I decided to see if I actually enjoyed cats by visiting a cat lounge in Chicago. With my two best friends, I spent an hour in an arcade-inspired cat lounge on the north side of the city.

I spent the first ten minutes feeling a bit nervous. There’s a saying among cat people that you don’t adopt a cat. The cat adopts you. I felt this sentiment as I bounced from cat to cat. Some of them had no problem walking away from me when I bent down to pet their backs. Others just laid there, faces blissed out with sleep.

So I pivoted and grabbed one of those tassel toys that cats love to chase around. To my delight, this captured a few cats’ attention, but in the end, they’d leave me for another person brandishing a tassel.

Holding the tassel pole like a fisherman waiting for a bite, I sat on the couch for a minute, sitting in silence as people around me made new friends.

A sudden tug broke me out of my reverie, and I looked down to see a white and brown shorthair pawing excitedly at my tassel. I was thrilled. I moved the toy back and forth, watching as she trailed after it, swiping at the fabric with her natural predatory skills.

After a few minutes, I moved to the floor, and the cat followed as the tassel trailed after me. There was a brief moment where I thought I lost the cat—another tassel caught her eye—but then she flew back to me to continue her war with my toy.

Now, I had ulterior motives here. We weren’t allowed to pick up the cats, but if the cats climbed onto our laps, that was fine. So sitting cross-legged on the floor, I waved the tassel in front of my legs, hoping that my new friend would get the idea.

Though I hoped for it, I wasn’t expecting what happened next.

With the tassel now in my lap, she climbed onto my legs, still pawing at her prey. But after a minute, she stopped and plopped down. With her head resting on her front paws, she closed her eyes.

Ten minutes passed and there she was, still sleeping. When cats sleep, their closed eyes form little crescents and their mouths turn upward and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a happier creature.

She shifted her position a few times until she was using my thigh as a pillow. At one point, someone walked past me and smiled, saying something among the lines of: “Aw, she chose you!” The words filled me with pride.

Eventually, it was time to go, and I said goodbye to my friend, though at this point, she was more interested in meal time.

I’m pretty sure that my friend’s been adopted with her sister and despite my jealousy, I hope they are having the time of their lives at their forever home.

My first time at a cat lounge showed me that I had an irregular first experience. The next two times I visited cat lounges, I’ve left dejected since no cats jumped onto my lap.

This experience also confirmed my suspicions. I am a cat person.

Cats don’t bark, and though they sometimes scream at the top of their lungs for food, something about their high pitched shrieks makes me laugh. They’re also very cynical, particular, and clever, qualities I see in my closest friends.

Besides my amazing cat experience, I haven’t had a cat choose me yet. But I’m looking forward to the day when the cat distribution system drops a sleeping cat onto my lap.

1 Comment

  1. Sophia Medawar

    Awww this is so sweet– I can feel your excitement as the little kitty crawled onto your lap. Praying for luck and favor for the Cat Distribution of the Sky to send you a new friend.

    Reply

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