Blanket is the very first cat to be owned by the writer and her husband as a married couple. — Photos: Fatin Irinah Mohd Noh
We have a small yet mischievous, white-and-orange cat with a long tail and a pair of long ears, which we named Blanket. Why Blanket? Because its presence keeps our hearts warm.
I grew up with lots of furry friends whom I would call family. They brought us happiness and at times, a heart attack or a headache but also heartbreak whenever we had to be apart from each other.
In February 2020, I met the love of my life whom I married 10 months later. Along the way, we discussed having a cat as a pet. The initial plan was to bring along my blue-eyed, white-furred cat named Purnama which I had rescued a few days before my engagement day. However, after seeing Purnama adapting well with the other cats back home, I dismissed the idea.
The idea of having a cat was then not discussed even after I got married and moved into my new home with my new husband. However, deep inside, I always missed my cats. Being far away from them and not being able to see them due to the interstate travelling restrictions, I felt sad and lonely.
That is, until one day, when I needed to do some grocery shopping at a mini mart near my house. As I was about to walk to my car, I saw a small orange furry ball playing alone at the entrance of the store. Its cuteness melted my heart!
I asked the store owner if this cat belonged to anyone and if I could bring it home. The store owner assured me that it did not belong to anyone and I could take it home. I was so happy! I was finally going to have a cat at my new home.
I immediately took it to the vet to be dewormed and bought it a cage and all the accessories and toys needed and took the kitten straight home and cleaned it well.
The kitten settled well in this house – but I forgot to tell my husband about it.
Blanket’s first Hari Raya Aidilfitri with the writer and her husband.
As I waited for my husband to come home, I suddenly had mixed feelings about the cat. Should I keep him? Is this the right thing to do? But I’d spent quite a lot, so I couldn’t send him back there (oh, pity him!). I was anxious and nervous, and the day felt like it was dragging on.
That evening, when my husband came home, I let my husband clean himself first before I broke the news to him.
I told him that I had a surprise and I also asked him to not be mad.
I took my husband to where I kept the cat, and he was pleasantly surprised and welcomed the cat happily. I told him I hadn’t named the cat yet. What should we name it? That is when my husband said, “Blanket.” I agreed with the name as it is cute.
Blanket is the very first cat to be owned by both of us as a married couple. Whenever my husband has to work at night, Blanket will be the one to accompany me. It plays the role of a “hero” when it catches all the lizards and roaches and bugs and, on rare occasions, rats. However, it "invited" all the other cats to come over to our house, so we have quite a few stray cats hanging around on our car porch.
Blanket (behind) with its best friend, Meemaw.
Blanket loves climbing, wet food and the delivery man. Blanket always gets excited whenever anyone is delivering anything at our gate. It will be the first to run to the front door to “collect” the purchases. Did I mention that its best friend is an old female stray cat named Meemaw? Blanket is always excited to see Meemaw. Call us biased but our cat is the cutest even though Blanket is just a domestic short-haired cat.
I think we pampered it a bit too much but we only want the best for Blanket.
Having Blanket especially during this pandemic and FMCO, does help us to reduce our stress. In the end, we hope to be able to grow old with Blanket.
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