On May 3, 2021, a tiny teeny soul came into my house and changed my life for good. That is the day Momo happened to me.

Here is a quick sneak peek of all her cuteness and shenanigans since Day 1! She turns 2 soon but the amount of growing up I had to do for her since day 1, astonishes me.

From million small things to life lessons, Momo has taught me all and continues to do so everyday. Now I clearly understand why every parent’s answer is to procrastinate answering the question “can I get a pet for this birthday” every child. It is surely not a child’s game. Being responsible for another life; and that too, one that can’t express in the language that you understand, is an absolute adventure of its own. I could write books about every new thing I had to pick up and learn quickly for Momo but if you ask me about the top 3 things, then here are those!

There is never a one/right way of doing things

I think I spent a good chunk of time reading about “things to know as a new fur parent”, “100 things about cats” and a million such articles and videos online when I first got Momo into the house. So much so that I almost assumed that it was the whole truth. I never took a step back to see if it was true in my situation. There were many questions that were not answered online and there were many things that didn’t hold true in Momo’s and my equation. There was such anxiety built in me that almost at one point, I wanted to give her away because the perfectionist in me had no clue what she was doing or what is the next thing to do. Momo didn’t obviously come with an installation/instruction manual.  All it took was for me to evaluate the current situation and do what was best for her. There are mistakes that I have made too but trusting my gut comes easier to me now that I have realised them. 

Looking at the cute cat videos online where the cat cuddles the Human, made me want the same soo badly. I would try various tricks from the internet to get her to cuddle with me. Still, it took me a few weeks to realise that Momo has her own personality where she is super independent and does only the things she is comfortable and no matter what is offered, she doesn’t budge. 

They become your new and only priority

From day 1 to today, there is not a single moment that I am not thinking of her. I put her comfort over anything else. I will first think, about how do I compensate for not spending time with her before making new plans. I prefer friends coming over to meet me than meeting them outside, that way Momo gets to spend time with them and in turn me too. 

How do I ensure her comfort is the only thing I am thinking of constantly. Her smallest difference in “purr” to her sleep cycle change/preference to the variety of her “meow”s that I can clearly differentiate now. 

They never leave you alone

When I say never, I mean NEVER. This is not a maximisation bias but the truth. She is with me when I laugh hard and when I silently cry myself to sleep. She follows me everywhere I go and wants to inspect everything I touch, eat and even see. She wants all my attention during playtime and would not tolerate it if I pick my phone up for a quick chat or call. She is on my shoulder when I am cooking, taking a bite of cooked potato whenever she needs it, reminding me to drink water during work by standing next to my water mug with a stare that speaks volumes. She chooses a spot in the bedroom during my calls such that she is visible on my screen for the participants and me, constantly reminding me of her existence and importance.

Having mentioned these 3, (spoiler alert) I might at some point want to make it a series of blogs with titbits like these that may be would encourage the readers to want to adopt a pet!

At this point, I am not really sure if I rescued/adopted Momo or if she rescued/adopted me. I lean more toward the latter than the former! What do you think?