Day 11: I am thankful SOS didn't kill Ma Maow the cat.
Sunday was a very tough day at the 2nd
job. The midday person called out, so I didn't get much of a break to do anything.
My levels were acting funky; I didn't get a chance to eat much. Overall, I was just feeling a bit exhausted,
which I’m wondering whether it’s a side effect of one of the medicines I’m
taking. I looked at the bottle but didn't see it listed. Perhaps I will look it up
online.
I had planned to wash my hair, but since one place’s
prices were a bit outrageous, and the place I normally go to was closed, I
opted to try to relax.
While I was trying to relax, Ma Maow made an appearance
in the room and got on the bed. This isn’t
really out of the ordinary for him to do.
He even laid next to my pillow, which isn’t strange for him to do.
What happened next, however, was.
I don’t even know why the cat did it. I’m not sure if I can rationalize why the cat
did it, but he grabbed one of my front locs with one paw, and clawed the base
of my loc, near the scalp, with the other paw.
I yelped in pain and when I got the cat to quit scratching at my scalp,
he started pulling on the front loc; SOS dislodged Ma Maow’s claw; the cat
tried to hide under the bed, but SOS got the broom and ushered the cat out of
there.
The front of my head still hurts some; the cut in the
scalp is healing. I've never had
anything like that happen to me—not with any of the cats I've had. If I was scratched, it was usually justified—like
trying to give one a bath (most aren't too fond of water), getting placed in a
cat carrier, you know things like that….
But to just be resting and to feel tugging, clawing, and
a sharp pain, it just bothered me.
SOS thinks we should get rid of the cat.
I guess I should rewind to how SOS and I ended up with
the cat in the first place. I may have
covered it in another blog, but feeling a little too lazy to try and dig up
exactly where.
It was around the time my grandpa had passed away. I was getting ready to head down there, in
fact. One of SOS’s former co-workers and
his then fiance (they have since broken up) were in the process of moving and
the place they were moving to didn't allow cats. They had asked SOS if the cat could stay
until they found a place which allowed pets.
At first, I wasn't too big on the idea; I still had Colby and Franklin
at the time, which was already one cat too many, plus I was concerned with how
Colby and Franklin would adjust to another cat, since it had been the two of
them for so long.
As it got closer to time (my preparing to make the drive
to MS), I got approached about it again.
The last thing on my mind was making an executive decision on a
cat. I told SOS I would leave it to
him. I was too caught up in my grief and
being there for my grandma, so on the day I was packing to head out, the
co-worker and the fiance brought the cat over.
So for a good three weeks I was away, so I wasn't around
for the whole initial adjustment period, but one I returned, I picked up that
Franklin got along with Ma Maow fine, but Colby and Ma Maow stayed at odds,
pretty much until Colby and Franklin died last October.
Then, I struggled with whether I should continue to keep
the cat. Like Ma Maow was there but I
could tell he was used to his old masters; I never felt like I could really
bond with him. He wasn't overly
affectionate, like Franklin, or overly playful, like Colby. However, I knew it was unrealistic for me to
expect him to fill the void of Colby and Franklin.
So I opted to keep him.
Once it hit home that Colby and Franklin were no longer around, Ma Maow
started to become more comfortable with roaming around in the apartment. He finally got comfortable enough to spend time
on the bed. His behavior seemed pretty
mild mannered, but all of that has changed recently.
This incident is the first one of its’ viciousness but it isn't the first time he’s scratched or bit me unprovoked.
It’s the culmination of these things which
makes SOS’s point about getting rid of the cat become more and more valid. I’m definitely taking it under
consideration. I don’t have paperwork on
him because he isn't originally mine, so I’m not sure if I could contact
someone about taking him. Or do the more
old fashioned way and just let him loose outside.
But for now, Ma Maow’s no longer allowed in the
room. Little does he know it’s more for
his protection than mine.
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