My cat, Fluffy, is my best friend. She and I have had a very special bond since she was born. Her mother belonged to my neighbors, and we knew I was going to get one of the kittens, so I found out the kittens had been born just minutes after it had happened. I remember running up the hill and taking a short cut to get to the neighbor’s house and the anticipation of meeting the kittens. They were so small, and I could not hold them because they were too young to be moved, but I still knew which one would be mine. Fluffy was the smallest one, and I was drawn to her.
For the next eight weeks, I visited Fluffy every day, and spent as much time with her as I could. I was the first person to hold her and I already knew that she was going to become a very special part of my life. I wanted my room to be just right when I brought her home, so I made her a bed in a small wooden crate lined with a pillow, blankets, and toys. When it was finally time to bring her home, I went to my neighbor’s house and carefully wrapped her in a dish towel, then I carried her to our house. The first night she was there, I tried to tuck her in to the bed I had made her, but she would not stay in it. Instead, she wanted to sleep in my bed. I woke up in the middle of the night to her curled up on my head, and from then on she would always sleep somewhere close to me, usually by my feet or by my head. We were, and still are, inseparable. She has been there through most of the big changes in my life: my parent’s divorce, moving, the horrors of middle school, more moving, my grandpa’s death, high school, my first break up, the pandemic, and now college. Even though my human friendships have changed and shifted over the years, Fluffy has been my constant best friend, and I am very lucky to have had her in my life over the past 12 years.