In early 2011, I sent a three-inch stack of paperwork to the Australian Embassy in Washington DC. They gave me the stamp of approval three months later, and I returned with a permanent resident visa in hand. I could live in Australia indefinitely with my partner! It was really real! We’d done long-distance, we’d done traveling, and we’d just finished a working year in New Zealand, living in a comfortable but bare-bones rental apartment in Wellington. It was time for Jamie and I to properly settle down together.
So that June, we visited the Hobart Cat Centre and came home with a standoffish black kitten. Four months old, she’d been adopted out to one family and then regretfully returned because she wasn’t getting along with small children. Her foster carer said that she didn’t like to be held, but would happily snuggle up to her preferred humans.
Three years on and this is still the case.
It’s the anniversary of my relationship with Jamie, and it’s also the anniversary of when we adopted Mishka. Jamie is at his best when he interacts with animals. It’s one of his most endearing traits.
It’s been a good run so far, little one. Even if you are difficult to photograph.
Mishka liked our apartment well enough, but the house has a yard. She loves watching birds, but never shows much interest in catching things; even when moths get inside the house, she’ll bat at them for a while and then wander off. We also make sure she stays inside at night, for her own safety.
Here are a few of her interests:
Closely inspecting all plants, great and small.
Watching over her turf, up high and down low. Now that she’s used to being boss hog in our yard, she doesn’t get along with other cats.
Attaining great heights.
Discovering all-natural, 100% renewable scratching posts.
Mishka is also a big fan of repurposing and upcycling furniture. She’s a pro at recycling — what might be a “cardboard box” to you and me instantly becomes “cat fortress.”
Thanks for being you, catface. I can’t imagine our home without you in it.
She is very photogenic! The perfect model in your black-walled bedroom.
Cats make it look so easy, don’t they. This is our bedroom in the apartment we had before buying our house, and I miss the light and the view.