I adopted a cat!
I grew up with cats. My family has had them for as long as I can remember. Since living on my own, I have been wanting to get a cat for quite awhile but the timing just hasn't been right. I'm away all the time with flying, I might move, etc, etc. Finally, a couple of months ago I just decided that the timing's never going to be better. I live with 3 awesome roommates that can help out when I'm in Frankfurt for the weekend, I have wonderful family and a boyfriend that can help me out, and I am living in a big house that allows pets.
So I started looking around and finally found my little babe through the Alberta Animal Rescue Society (AARCS). If you a looking for a little furry friend to adopt, I would totally recommend them. They take care of everything (vaccinations, spaying/neutering, vet check-ups, etc) before you adopt and they really make sure that each animal is going to a good home. I found my guy on the site, met him and the foster family, and had him home in about a week! I've named him Basquiat after the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat... We just call him Baz for short. And let me tell you... He. Is. Adorable.
^ Here he is with the book about his namesake. Basquiat was an artist that grew up in New York in the 60's and 70's and started to receive recognition as part of SAMO, a graffiti duo in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His art commented on the wealth disparity, race and segregation of the time. He was selling his paintings internationally by the 80's. He had an interesting relationship with Andy Warhol (you have probably seen the photo of the two of them with boxing gloves on, down below) and he overdosed on heroin at the age of 27.
Photo by Michael Halsband /Landov (1985)
My Baz loves being around people and will hang out in whatever room we are in, and he often follows me around the house. He already has a favourite toy that he will pick up in his mouth and carry around, and I have gone full crazy cat lady. Not only did I get the essentials, but I put a display box from IKEA up on the wall for him to sit/sleep in and I made a whole cat play castle out of big boxes. Am I insane? Maybe.
One challenge with bringing him home was cat-proofing the house first. Almost all of my plants are toxic to cats, so I had to find smart and sneaky way of getting them out of reach. I ended up hanging some, putting up a shelf that I had lying around, and putting some in a little greenhouse.
So far it's been pretty okay. You can tell Baz is interested though, so I'm growing some cat grass that will hopefully satiate him and keep him away from my plant babies! I'm also trying to give him the option to be a hiking cat, and trying to train him to wear a harness and such. So we'll see how that goes, too!
HOW. CUTE. IS. HE?! SO CUTE.
