Bonding over spilled milk...

The other day I was sitting in my living room watching TV and drinking a glass of water. We don’t have a coffee table, so instead of holding my drink, I set it down on the ground in front of me. Sure enough, within minutes, I saw a small, gray and white face peek from around the chair. She crept forward, staring at me the entire time. Then she stopped, huddled to the ground next to my glass while continuing to stare at me intently. 

“No!” I said sternly.

She stared – lifted her paw to the edge of my glass.

“Noo…” I repeated.

Her eyes almost seemed to narrow in defiance as she reached into my glass and with one swift, fatal motion, knocked my drink over.

Then she ran away.

This situation (a game she seems to think) happens multiple times a day between me, my three roommates and our adopted cat, Tessie. My roommate, Shelley Goff, decided to adopt her from ACHS back in October 2008, and since then, even spilled milk can’t keep us from adoring every minute she spends at our home.

Tessie was born in a trailer park, and when she came to live with us she was only 10 weeks old and had fleas and worms. Now, over a year later, she is a healthy, slightly chubby (but in the absolute cutest way) part of our family.

Being raised by all girls – seven last year and four this year – she has certainly picked up some of our…bratty… behavior. Even though she has the “I want to be part of the action but you are absolutely not allowed to bother me” attitude of a 13-year-old girl, she still curls up with me in bed or joins us on the couch during movies.

“I love her so much more than she loves me,” jokes Goff after Tessie loudly objects to being picked up off the floor. Even though she scratches at furniture and never lets us hold her as much as we want to, having Tessie around our house has certainly helped cheer us up on many occasions. She knows our personalities, and plays with us each in a different kind of way. And, although it is annoying, spilling our drinks has even become a kind of humorous routine.

"I think she is just trying to tell us to keep the place clean,” Goff said.

It goes without saying that we think of Tessie as another roommate and not just a cat. I can’t help but feel that people often underestimate the importance of animals. They have distinctive personalities and interact with their owners on a daily basis, so not considering them a part of the family seems absurd to me. I admit it, we talk to Tessie as if we expect her to respond, and while sometimes she does meow back (particularly if we are yelling at her to stop doing something) it’s less of a need for a response and more of a desire for camaraderie that keeps us talking to her. Pets are loyal companions; I can’t even count how many times I have been in a bad mood and Tessie has jumped up next to me on the couch.

And besides, when I wake up and she is curled up next to my feet, how can I not say ‘good morning?’

Who could resist this face??