The time goes by so fast… That’s such a cliché , but it’s a cliché because it’s true. It really does seem like yesterday Tabs was this bouncy kitten with bright green eyes and a crooked tail who would pounce in and out of my apartment. Now he’s like the crabby old man who begrudgingly lets me hug him him and hold him and pet him.
He’s still all sweetness at heart, though, and being his pet mom has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. He’s been my constant companion, dance partner and sounding board for 10 years.
Thinking back, the first time I really felt bonded to him was the first time we took him to the vet. He was still more or less a neighborhood stray at the time, and we think he was about a year old. He would come around our old apartment building, but he always left on his nightly adventures at night.
One day we noticed some troubling things about his health. His tummy was distended (he had worms), and his eyes were watering, so we took him to the vet. On the way there, he pooped in his cat carrier, this cardboard cat carrier we had bought for him.
I went into a pet store to look for a cat shampoo and something to wash his fur with because the poor thing had pooped all over himself, and I remember talking to this lady who was helping me in the store. I burst into tears and said, “He’s so helpless. He’s just a little thing. You should hear him meowing in the car.” I just wanted to help him, and the lady gave me one of those half hugs that you give to strangers talking about their cat. But she totally got me.
I still remember later that day. El Hub was the one who took Tabs into the tub to wash his fur, and Tabs didn’t once swat him or resist anything. He was terrified of the water, but he must have trusted and somehow known that we were trying to help him.
Tabs is the best cat any cat mom could wish to have, but I think all pet moms feel that way about their companions. 🙂
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, and Tabs would like to say a special thank you to all the pet moms.
Do you remember the first time you felt deeply connected to your pet companion? Did it come as a surprise to you? I’d love to hear about it.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Valda says
I recall reading your blog years ago when Tabs regularly put in a guest appearance at your home and I was touched then already by your love for him. I have 3 girls (dogs) , 1 is a rescue who has been sent diagnosed with epilepsy but not many people truly understand the love and joy they bring into your life. Rescues are the best fur kids ever.
Denise Sheffield says
Tabs is so precious! He’s a handsome guy! I never tire of seeing your pictures and post of him.Thanks Tabs and a very Happy Mothers Day Karen!
Ruchita says
Aww, love those pics of Tabs smiling! What a sweet boy. So glad he crossed paths with you.
I can’t remember a specific moment where I felt a bond with the kitties, but I know it happened pretty quickly. Before they joined the family, I never really planned on having pets. But now I can’t imagine life without them. Some of the best things in life are unexpected.
Tatiana says
Happy Mother’s Day to you!! Tabs is lucky to have found you to love him and take care of him so much.
Hope you’re having the best day with Connor Claire!
Rachel says
Awww that story brought tears to my eyes! I’m only a mom to a cat baby, no real babies (yet). It took a while for my current cat to really start exploring my house because it still had the smell of my previous cat. But now he follows me everywhere and sleeps with me all night and if I’m out of town I really miss him!
Chelsea says
All kitties should be as lucky as Tabs.
I knew Mina was my girl when I first met her. We were at the humane society looking to adopt a kittycat, and the second I reached out to pet her, she started licking my hand. She has a cropped tail because it was injured, which reminded me of the Rottweilers I’d grown up with. She’s such a sweetie and makes me so happy everyday. Her clumsiness is endearing, and even though she can be a naughty girl (trying to sneak out the door, and why is she always covered in stuff she’s rolled around in?!) she is just so full of love.
Quincy, my bunnybaby, was a birthday gift of sorts. He was just a little baby, and Zack brought him to me in a cardboard box. He used to sit on top of my chest while I sat around. I miss him so much, he was such a good boy. He taught so many people that bunnies are more than just little furry things that you stick in a cage, and he was so full of personality and spunk. I was unable to keep him from jumping on the couch, and sometimes I’d ground him from it for peeing on it.
Zack adopted Jiji while I was in Cannes in 2011 (Can’t believe it was that long ago!). Jiji loves to take naps with me, cuddled up as my little spoon under the blankets.
And Henrietta is such a good girl. Whoever let her go is a big dummy! We just got back from taking her on a walk. There’s a local ice cream place that does “pup-sicles,” which are a frozen cube of beef broth with a dog biscuit stuck in as the stick, and she loved hers.
Amy says
This is the sweetest. These pictures really capture how loved Tabs feels! I remember the first time I really bonded with my puppy, now the most loving 3-year-old hound mix ever (basset and coonhound is our best guess). It was SO MUCH work helping him learn to go out every 3 hours, and cleaning the floor when we didn’t get the timing right, and… guess who’s the only one home during the day! It was like having an infant all over again. But he was so sweet and constantly wagging his tail. One night I was sitting in a big chair, exhausted, and I felt his warm little puppy self looking up at me. I sensed he wanted to jump in my lap. I let him up, and he looked at me like, “I think I’m ready to call this home and trust you completely.” He fell fast asleep and I didn’t move for an hour, because his cozy, toasty puppiness was too sweet. When he woke up, he looked a little surprised to see me, then happy and content. After that, he was 110% ours!
Rebecca says
I loved your story about how your cat became yours! We adopted our cat, Markie, a year ago. He was at an adoption drive hosted by pet supply store. My kids (at the time they were 3 & 1) and I were supposed to be “just looking” at the cute kitties in these crates set up on long tables. We got to this pretty gray & white cat with gold & green eyes. He was lounging in this crate, so laid back, not caring at all that there were all of these other people around looking at him too. My 3 yr old daughter walked up to the side of his crate and he got up, started rubbing his head on her as she stuck her fingers through the crate. He was purring and it was just so sweet. It was love at first sight for them both. I immediately thought, “uh oh.. I think I’m getting a cat today.” Ha! I texted my amazing husband, who thankfully approved, and we came home with our first cat that day. I so badly wanted this cat for my kids after I saw how good he was with them and how they adored him… What I didn’t expect was the cat picked ME as his favorite! He lays on my chest when I’m watching TV, he always wants to be snuggled up by me, he’s very talkative to me… Initially it was an adjustment for me as I’m not really a “cat person”, lol. But now I’m just so attached our boy and thankful he picked us. He really has added a piece to our family that I didn’t know was missing before.
SJ says
Aww, Tabs! That story is so beautiful; thank you for sharing.
I am pretty sure Pepper adopted me, rather than the other way around. There was a kitten adoption day and I’d finally convinced my parents to let me adopt a cat (I was a teenager), and Pepper made this weird meow that was just like an animal in an anime I was obsessed with. Probably just to get my attention. She hasn’t meowed like that since, and she meows *all* the time. So we got her out of the cage and she spent the rest of the time we were there hanging out on my shoulders, this scrawny, barely two-pounds kitten staking out her human. Yes, she came home with me after she got spayed and microchipped, and my younger brother and my dad talked my mom into getting a second cat for them, too!
Mel. B. says
I had the most wonderful cat, Jaspurr Floyd for nine of the best years of my life.
I think about him everyday! I adopted him when he was just a little kitten and he was my little fur baby. He trusted me to bathe him & brush his teeth (with special cat toothpaste). What a great experience being his cat mom. Although he unfortunately passed away 3 & a half years ago, he was my feline soul mate!
Stephanie says
Welll, I have several cats, all of them are “foster fails”
Jack & Hurley are brothers. We knew Hurley was a keeper the first time we saw him. We had mom and 4 kittens. Hurley was rhe last one out of the carrier. He was like a softball, round and fat. We laughed and laughed because he was so fixated on food. Their sisters were adopted together and I couldn’t stand the thought of Jack being alone. We already had 3 cats plus we were keeping Hurley. But I couldn’t part with Jack.
Pippi was also part of a litter, four brothers and sisters plus mom. Every morning the cat bed the kittens slept in was wet and someone was pooping out of the box. As they got bigger, got fixed and went up for adoption it became clear it was Pippi. She was the only one left so they put another kitten in with her. She growled and terrorized him. Plus she wouldn’t shut up. So the shelter asked us if we would just take her. What could we say? She’s as dumb and cranky as ever but we love her.
Winston cane from a feral colony. A really nice woman managed to grab all the kittens. She didn’t realize Winston and his brother had eye infections, she thought they hadn’t opened their eyes yet. By the time she realized they were infected the damage was done. Both are blind in one eye. The woman who rescued them took his brother, we took Winston. He’s a funny dude, very neurotic. We knew he wouldn’t do well in just any home.
Squirt is my special boy. He was dumped at the shelter in a cardboard box with a broken hind leg. When he was a kitten they didn’t know if he would need surgery when he got older so people passed on him. He chose me, whenever he saw me he looked me in the eye. He still looks at me like he understands. We brought him home as a “long term foster” there’s no way he was ever leaving.
And then there’s Jon Snow. He also chose me, his personality is different than Squirt. JS is wild and he acts like he has ADD. He’s very bonded to us, we knew he wouldn’t do well in another home. We had him since he was about 3 weeks old. He just settled in like he belonged so we kept him.
Diana says
I had my boy, a poodle for 16 years but I also rescued many feral cats/kittens who all found their way under my porch in freezing CT winters…Tabs chose you as his mom and that is high praise from a cat, especially one who’s been a stray. True love ?
Kim says
Tabs <3