I am at peace with a kitten sleeping on my belly, and I think that may be the answer to all the problems I conjure up in my own head. By which I mean that I might be discovering a pattern – I was happiest and most joyful when I was taking care of Mano back in August and September. December and January have been fairly challenging up here in my mental and even physical space; I’ve been doing some hefty cognitive labour in just trying to figure out what to do next or about my relationships or how to make sense of my place in my life on this uncharted and unlived-before journey, and it’s been tiring. But here I am with a relaxed kitten on my lap and I am very much at peace.
This kitten has a dark grey coat and the most beautiful face, with a symmetrical white marking on his forehead that looks like an ‘M’. For this reason his name is Emmett (for now, knowing how susceptible we are to changing our stance on names). I picked him up after hearing him meowing in our driveway; he was practically hidden from anyone’s view if I hadn’t seen a little black kitten shaped movement in the corner of my eye in the guard room. I picked him up immediately and brought him upstairs. He was terrified, didn’t eat, cried through the evening and did not play.
But very soon he started to eat. I’m so grateful we had kitten formula at home. He was cold too, and shivering, and so we bundled him up. The first night was difficult; I woke up every hour from 3 AM to 8 AM to feed him and tend to his cries for his mother. Then I slept throughout the morning after asking mama to keep an eye on him for the next few hours.
The second night was better, he had eaten solid food and had a fuller belly, only waking me up once at 5 AM after which I scooped him up and made him sleep with me. At around 8, I felt a wetness near my leg. I had to wash my sheets.
Last night was similar, with me waking up at around 5 AM to a hungry and confused kitten. I scooped him up again and kept him quite literally under my armpit. He’s such a peaceful sleep companion. I could only hope he wouldn’t pee again – he didn’t. He knows where his litter is now.
Today, he’s been playing all morning long and has finally tired his tiny self out. He’s probably about 5 weeks old. Here’s hoping someone falls in love with him soon so that I can bring Mogli back into my room. She’s super suspicious lately and I miss her presence at night too, honestly.
But anyway… Today’s thought to carry forward is that peace = happy kitten.