My Darling, You...!

Muse finally got a place that he could call his own. But the moving-in took quite some time due to some complications regarding the transfer of grant. So he asked whether I wanted to take care of his cat. I was honoured, and teased him, "Is there anyone else that would?" (thinking, because if there is anyone else, I want to know who he or she is, and why do you trust this person so much?). He didn't see the funny side of this unfortunately. Gosh. I had to reassure him that he got to have some faith in me and to never, ever doubt me. Double gosh. 

So the cat was handed over to me. I really, really, really didn't think I would bond with it. Not like I bonded with Izzy, my deceased cat. It cowered every time I got near it and went hiding in unlikely corners of the house for hours, coming out only to eat and shit. And when I tried to touch it, it would give me that 'I-don't-trust-you-bitch' kinda look. Like this:

It broke my heart so much at first.

So this hide and seek thing went on for a few days until the cat got fed up of its own solitary life. It began to come out from its hiding places and slowly creep into the living room or wherever I ended up in the house.  I began to pat it, and it slowly warmed up to me and the  next thing I knew, it was rolling and rolling on the floor,  doing those kinda acts cats would do when they want your affection. I was euphoric! It finally liked me! I decided to capture those warm-up moments because they're really precious moments:

So, to make the story short, I finally bonded with  the cat! A fact that really worried me because what would happen when Muse took it back from me? When something becomes a big part of your life, how do you adjust when it is suddenly gone? I don't handle this kind of loss well. I shuddered every time I thought about this. The trauma of losing  Izzy  began to resurface a couple of times. But I kept my cool.

My cool however, was brought to a test when my family came over. Muse had named the cat Tipap, which, to him was humorous but  every adult with a minimum proficiency  in Malay would know what it refers to. I personally do not like the name. Because if there's one thing you shouldn't do to a pet is to give it a hideous name. So when my family, especially my two little nieces, asked me the cat's name, I said: Darling. So, rather than having to explain why the cat was named with such a hideous name, I took the easy way out by renaming it. Muse might not care about what people think about him but I do. Especially when those people are my family. But most of all, I didn't want my family to think that he was a pervert. 

Why Darling? Sounds cliché and all, I know, but the cat is really a darling. It really embodies the meaning of the word. It keeps me company when I'm studying, falling asleep most of the time. It wakes me up in the morning. It welcomes me when I get home. It talks to me, in its own fox-like way, and the list goes on. I shall let these pics do the some of the talking:

                                        Awww, let's stay in bed for a couple more minutes, Mommy? Please?

                                                      Mommy, wake up! It's prayer time! 

                            Uh, you're all dressed up. Seriously, do you have to leave me here at home, alone?

                                    Do you have to leave early in the morning, Mommy? What about me?

                                          While you read, Mommy, I'll just stay here and look pretty, okay?

                                       I think I'll take a cat nap while Mommy wrecks her brain... 

                                                  Mommy, your notes are making me sleepy!

As I got more and more attached to Darling, I began to worry. My worry reached its peak when Muse finally got the keys to his apartment! I dreaded the thought that he was going to take back his precious Darling. I even decided to come up with an ultimatum: 'Darling and me are a package. Either you take both of us or you don't!'. 

So when Muse said pets are not allowed at his place, I heaved a huge sigh of  relief!  Darling will stay with me! Yeay!!! Thank you Muse for bringing such a darling into my life! And what a Darling she really is! Err, Muse, I assume we have joint-custody, eh ;-)?

                                                           Who's your Mommy, Darling?