The Joys of Being a Pet Owner

     I recently (within the last 7 months) got my first real pet... The reason I emphasize the real portion is because I have gone through a series of fish over the last two years or so, all of which, have since met their demise and ventured to the great, big, blue beyond via the big white porcelain bowl. All but one that is...Let me explain. For our second valentines day together my boyfriend decided to get me a fish...that might sound lame to a lot of you but me being who I am, found it cute. We went and picked out a beautiful iridescent green/blue beta fish along with a gorgeous 5 gallon fish tank that had a super neat waterfall-ish accent piece. In addition we got one of those neat foam bubble rope things that we buried under the rocks so our "little love fish" would have something to play in. We then decided on a name for our love fish, we dubbed him Ralis, lord of the sea...Yes, we got it from Zelda. Ralis thrived for nearly a year before he kicked the bucket...

All of our supplies!

Our Little Love Fish (Ralis)

     We then decided to get a few replacement fish. This time we opted for a trio of colorful GlowFish. We named the pink one Ruto (Ru for short), the orange one Ra, and the Blue one Zora (again names from Zelda...except for Ra aka: the ancient Egyptian's sun god). The three seemed to get along for the most part. At some point Ra developed tail rot but seemed to get around just fine without his tail, then Zora simply disappeared...not kidding we looked everywhere! We cleaned out the fish tank, pulled apart the filter and motor, moved the stand the tank was on, got on our knees and searched the floor but the fish had simply disappeared.  I still think the other fish ate him but who knows. So we proceeded to get Zora II. Then we found Ru on the floor dried up before Zora II committed suicide by running into the wall of the tank as hard as he could when we were feeding him...granted he just sort of floated around stunned for a few minutes before snapping back and seeming fine (zombie fish, freaky for real) but he was dead the next day. And finally Ra, perhaps out of depression, decided to stop eating and died shortly after. It was around that time my boyfriend started his first year of med school. Yeay! I am still so proud of him! Unfortunately, his new educational venture dampened my mood a bit. Try as I might, I became increasingly depressed. I am the type of person who has to have someone/something to give attention to. The fish were fun to look at but I couldn't exactly take them out of their tank to play with them...This is where my real pet comes into play.
     My boyfriend and I are both animal lovers. We both grew up with pets specifically dogs and I was lucky enough to grow up with an outdoor cat as well. We had been talking about getting a (mammal) pet for some time now but with our schedules, his med school and my current position as a substitute teacher, it would be difficult to properly care for a dog. We are the kind of people who take a lot of time to research things first before we decide to move forward...for example, our fish...we spent a few days researching what Beta Fish need to truly to thrive, a 5 gallon tank, heater, etc. So we obviously did that when considering our options as far as a mammal pet was concerned...our apartment complex only allows fish, dogs and cats so that helped narrow down our options. After months...and I mean MONTHS of researching the potential annual cost of a pet cat or dog, plus their cognitive and emotional needs we came to the conclusion that it wasn't time to get a dog quite yet. We just sort of dropped the cat option because we had been so wrapped up in wanting a dog, primarily due to the bond that develops between the dog and it's owners. As animal lovers, we often make trips to the local pet stores on the weekends to see the various adoption agencies that set up. We might not have been able to adopt one of our own, but at least we could give some love and attention to some of the animals that hadn't found their other halves yet.
     Needless to say one weekend we made this trip to our local PetSmart. They didn't have any dogs that day but they had recently gotten in a number of kittens from the Feline Freedom Coalition. I went over, like I usually do, and took a look at the kittens. Most of them were sleeping in a pile together. One however, was off on her own. I moved my hands around trying to get her attention and it worked, so I stood there for some time doing my best to entertain this lonely kitten before deciding, "well she's awake and her roommates are all zonked so why not play with her". After going over and asking one of the employees...and then waiting nearly 15 minutes before they were able to help me, I was, at last, led into a small "play room" to interact with the kitten. The employee then brought out the little kitten who seemed quite shy. When they placed her on the floor the little kitten scooted as far away from me as possible. Generally, this isn't considered a "good" sign. Perhaps I'm just an idiot or maybe it was the mothering instinct in me that saw a frightened little animal whose trust had to be earned. This I understood. So I allowed her to smell me and did my best to use some of the surrounding toys to entice her. After some time of allowing her to acclimate to my presence I reached over and picked her up. She didn't struggle or fuss at my handling her so I toyed with her feet and her face to test the waters. She again did fine. I noticed how badly she was shaking. The poor thing was just absolutely terrified. So I snuggled her close to my chest so that she could feel my heartbeat. I sat there stroking her while I listened to the employee telling me about the kittens history. She had been found behind a clothing store all by herself at about a month and a half old. She was then taken to to the adoption agency where she was put in quarantine and then received her vaccinations, micro chip and tattoo. According to the employee the kitten hadn't acclimated too well to life in a kennel...I'm still not sure if that was true or if they were just trying to get rid of her. Either way the tiny shaking kitten who had calmed in my arms, that bit of information and my recent bout of slight depression sealed the deal...I was getting a kitten.
     My boyfriend and I spent the next hour and a half pricing everything out; annual cost for the Banfield membership, food, litter, etc. and shopping for the necessary items to make my new kitten feel at home in our apartment. She was then weighed (2.75 pounds at three months and four days of age) and quickly looked at by the vet, before I was finally allowed to bring her home. The first few days with her were a bit worrisome because she was very skittish but at the same time very content to stay curled up in my arms or in my lap when I would pick her up. I am happy to report that she has now been with us for just over 7 months and is very sweet. She loves to cuddle up next to/on me. She is a purring machine and, surprisingly, has many of the traits that my boyfriend and I were originally looking for in a dog. She chases her tail from time to time, gives kisses, loves to play fetch and catch, meets me at the door most days when I come home from work and almost always follows me when I leave the room. In addition,  she is the softest cat I have ever felt (we're talking bunny soft) and isn't afraid of the water (I have given her a few baths). We named our little kitten Midna (yes, another Zelda name)...I realize this makes me a complete nerd but the name truly suits her. Midna is the Twilight princess in one of the Zelda games and for the majority of the game is trapped in the form of a cute imp. Needless to say I love her and she seems happy. She brings joy to our little apartment and is always a great source of entertainment. Anyhoo...that was quite a long story. Sorry about that. Haha! But if you made it through the entire thing congrats and thank you!

Here are a few picture of Midna

Kitten Play Time!