On Adopting My Kitten

The following post is going to be a little sad in the beginning so here are some pictures of Scarlet to distract you and cheer you up. Or you can just scroll through this just for the photos. Whatever.

In three days, my kitten, Scarlet, will turn 6 months, which also means that she has been living with me and my family for half her life time thus far. So much has been happening to my family since the beginning of 2013, I’m glad Scarlet is here to accompany us through the thick and thin, despite only being a cat. Many people question the reason and my timing for getting her since it seemed out of the blue. I didn’t want to talk about it then but I guess now is a good time after things have finally settled down at home.

 

She, like many cats, has a fondness of sitting on laptops and turning it off with her butt. She looks so innocent but don't let her looks deceive you.

Shortly after my birthday, my grandmother passed away on January 6^th. She was at the hospital at the time recovering from a cold, or so the doctor first suspected. But it turned out she had a case of pneumonia. They attempted to withdraw the fluids in her lungs and the surgery looked successful at first. My mother and my uncle had been visiting her daily to keep her company. Grandma appeared to be recovering when my mom and brother went to see her. Three hours later, my mom received a phone call but she didn’t understand what was going on and handed the phone to me to translate.

I had to be the one to break the bad news.

She hates the bright flash from digital cameras. Haha. She looks like something from Excel Saga. Need to use that face in some of paintings.

A few years ago, my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She sometimes forgets who we are. My mom visited her every day after she got off of work and cooked for her back when grandma could still eat. Because of that, my mother is always tired and overspent, and my siblings and I rarely get a chance to interact with her outside of dinner. My grandma’s body was also falling apart and the nurses at the home forced her to remain bedridden so she wouldn’t injure herself. We sent her to a nursing home because grandma would always get lost outside or be conned into buying things from sales associates in Chinatown, who took advantage of her situation. Due to school or work, there was no one at home to watch over her and sometimes a police officer returns her back. It’s disheartening to see a once proud and upstanding woman in that state.  

Scarlet likes playing with a stream of water and the thing that filters the drain. She treats the thing like a dean animal and constantly drops it on my feet despite everyone's protest.

She was getting old and sick and her death shouldn’t have been much of a shock. We all were expecting it but it still felt out of the blue. She has gone through many worse surgeries and this one was a simple procedure. My mom return home that day relieved because she thinks her mother is recovering and returning to the nursing home soon. I was laughing and joking with my sister when the phone call came. It was not something I expected. The words hit me like a tidal wave and then it tickled away while I tried to process what was going on. I had them repeat it and asked for the name of the patient to make sure it was really my grandmother they were referring to. It was. She passed away shortly after the visitation of her two children.

She likes sleeping with her chin up and her limbs sprawled out.

Mother was relatively calm when heard the news. She was a little shaken but seemed to take the news quite well. She immediately called her brother and we, along with my younger cousin, went to see the body. Grandma was still in her deathbed. She looked like she’s sleeping. The doctor said she passed peacefully but we saw blood speckles on her pillow case. Apparently she choked from the fluid in her lungs. Mom broke down completely in seeing her mother like this. She didn’t want to leave her side and we stayed there for almost an hour.

I got a new garbage can with a lid on it just so she couldn't get into the trash. Lo and behold she knocked the thing over and crawl into before we even got a chance to use it.

In the days that followed, I talked to my close friend, Joy. We shared experiences on past losses and other things. Somehow in the mist of our conversation, I convinced myself in getting a kitten.

My mother was reluctant at first when I told her about it. She was really against the idea because of her bad experiences with a cat as a child (and also because she was busy with planning grandma’s funeral). But I remembered the look on her face when Joy’s cats came to visit. Mom was playing with them more than I was and she took care of them when Joy and I did our gallery exhibit. So I went ahead with the adoption at Anti-Cruelty Society.

She also likes bags and box. Don't know why they excite her but she caused us to keep a lot of trash in the house (lots more than before, for those who knows me as a slob).

One of the reasons I wanted to get a pet for the family was because I was afraid my mom would be lonely now with grandma gone. My parents had split up since I was still in grade school. My mom placed all her energy in raising my siblings and me. Then when my grandmother got sick, she had to take care of her too. Now with us all growing up and grandma gone, she’ll have very little to tend. Her mind strays when she isn’t working and she is a busybody. My grandpa died when my mom was really young. I don’t want to see my mom lonely like my grandma was. Obviously, I didn’t state this point to my mother.

One time I caught her trying to hang herself with my purse. That was weird. And she's giving that look too. She really scares me sometimes.

Four days after my grandma left, I adopted Scarlet. She wasn’t my first choice but she looked similar to the other kitten I wanted, who had been adopted earlier the day. She was so small—just three months and weighed 3.5 pounds at the time. I didn’t think we were going to bond well when I first met her because she kept trying to get away from me when I held her. She was adorable and curious—the youngest kitten at the time. They people at the center told me that kittens get adopted fast so I shouldn’t consider too long and if I take her home with me that night, Lucci (her name at the center) wouldn’t have to stay in a tiny cage that night.

She knows what comfy is and is spiteful enough to sleep on all the clean pillows during laundry day.

The interviewing process was quicker than I expected. For a brief moment, I didn’t think I was going to get her due to my lack of experience when animals. Since I thought I was going to adopt a male cat (or two), I didn’t think of a name for her. Temporary called her Trent and she was registered so. There were so many complications that day. My house wasn’t prepared for a kitten yet. It was raining badly outside and I need to take the train home. And she couldn’t be taken home yet until after the wake because of Chinese superstitions.

Yea, Scarlet, I'm talking about you.

So many people helped with Scarlet those couple of days. Jason came and picked us up and took me to Target and Petco to pick up supplies. Yanet kitty-sat her for three days. Special thanks to Melly, Chris, Amy, Alisha, Joy, Tao, Sing and many other people who helped me during that time.

She also likes to sit on the dining room table and steal our food, much to everyone's chagrin.  That's when she gets jail time in my room.

She was named after the Scarlet Witch from X-Men and Avengers comic. She also answers to Stinky-Butt because she farts a lot. Mom and Scarlet are bonding over really well and once things got less hectic, Mom actually agreed that adopting her into our family was a good idea even though she can be quite a handful sometimes.

Scarlet wants to thank you for reading and for buying Coke. Kidding! I'm not getting sponsored for this. (Last 3 pictures are taken by a DSLR versus a normal digital camera, in case anyone was wondering.)