Today, August 8, is International Cat Day. The date serves to raise awareness about the importance of cats and promote the adoption and welfare of these animals.
I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the unconditional love I felt for the only cat I ever had in my life.
From 2012 to 2015, I lived in a house in the historic district of Coimbra, in Sé-Velha. From an early age, I enjoyed my independence. Although on weekends I always returned to my parents' house, about 2 kilometers away. I always liked living alone, especially because I have strange working hours and never liked disturbing others.
The owner had lived in that house, but she had passed away two years before I moved in. Her daughter, who rented the house to me, informed me that a cat might return. Since the house had been closed for two years, the cat had been living on the street.
The cat, named “Pintinhas,” already 5 years old, was quite independent. The beginning was not easy; he started living in the house but interacted little or not at all.
So, I started to win him over through his stomach. That is, I started buying the best gourmet cat food. I bought the best of everything. He consoled himself.
After a week, very gradually, he began to invade my room. I felt each presence, each conquest, and enormous joy. Finally, two independent beings together.
Then an unconditional love was born that I never thought I would feel for an animal. It was three years of much learning and much harmony. Whenever I left the house, I wanted to come back right away to be with him.
The first night he slept in my bed. Then, he calmly gained ground and was already fighting with me over the pillow and my place. I always gave in, always.
To show his gratitude for the good treatment and love he received, he began bringing her his prey as trophies. Brilliant. Cats are brilliant, they seem like they're from another world.
I always work with two computers. He started to find my professional setup strange, always trying to take one. Here, I never gave in. Never.
One day he fell ill. He became very apathetic and lethargic. I took him to the vet, where he spent two days under observation and undergoing tests. The worst-case scenario had come to pass: his liver was completely diseased because he had eaten something that poisoned him.
I brought him home anyway, as there was a 1% chance he might improve with medication. But no, he died two days later, weak in my arms.
I wondered if I had bought some spoiled gourmet food. But, talking to neighbors, I learned that on that street, within a month, four other cats had died of poisoning.
I was shocked. I packed my backpack and went to my parents' house for a week to mourn. It was impossible to be in that house without the cat. Every corner I looked at brought back a thousand memories. I started to get depressed and felt a strong urge to find out who was responsible for this feline genocide. It wouldn't be good for me, nor for him.
So I decided to give up the house and look for another place to live. Since then, I have never been able to bond with a cat again. This is because, with the death of my father in 2019, I went to live with my mother. We live on the 6th floor of a building, and even though I know that some cats can cope with living in an apartment, I think it's unnatural. A cat needs to go outside, it needs to walk and hunt, it needs to reproduce.
All I have left are my memories of “Pintinhas.”
A while ago, while photographing a soccer practice, this cat approached and sat down on my work bag. Could it be the reincarnation of “Pintinhas”?
🇵🇹 🇧🇷
! [PORTUGUESE VERSION]
Dia Internacional do Gato
Hoje, 8 de Agosto, comemora-se o dia internacional do gato. A data serve para consciencializar sobre a importância dos gatos e promover a adoção e o bem estar destes animais.
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Aproveito esta efeméride para partilhar convosco o amor incondicional que travei com o único gato que convivi na vida.
De 2012 a 2015 vivi numa casa na zona histórica de Coimbra, na Sé-Velha. Desde cedo gostei da minha independência. Embora aos fins de semana voltasse sempre a casa dos meus pais, a cerca de 2 quilómetros. Sempre gostei de viver sozinho, especialmente porque tenho horários de trabalho estranhos e nunca gostei de perturbar os outros.
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Nessa casa tinha vivido a proprietária - que entretanto tinha falecido, dois anos antes de eu ir para lá viver. A filha, que me alugou a casa, informou-me que talvez um gato pudesse voltar. Visto que, nestes dois anos, a casa esteve fechada e o gato viveu na rua.
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O gato, de seu nome “Pintinhas”, já com 5 anos de idade, era bastante independente. O inicio não foi fácil, ele começou a habitar a casa mas pouco ou nada interagia.
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Então, comecei a conquista-lo pelo estômago. Ou seja, comecei a comprar as melhores comidas gourmet para gatos. Tudo quanto havia de melhor, eu comprava. Ele consolava-se.
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Depois de uma semana, muito gradualmente, começou a invadir o meu quarto. Sentia a cada presença, uma conquista e uma alegria enorme. Finalmente dois seres independentes juntos.
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Nasceu então um amor incondicional que nunca pensei sentir por um animal. Foram três anos de muita aprendizagem e muita sintonia. Sempre que eu saia de casa queria logo voltar para estar com ele.
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A primeira noite que dormiu na minha cama. Depois, calmamente conquistou terreno e já disputava comigo a almofada e o meu lugar. Eu cedi sempre, sempre.
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Para agradecer o bom trato e amor que lhe dava começou a trazer as suas presas como troféu. Genial. Os gatos são geniais, parecem de outro mundo.
Tenho hábito de trabalhar sempre com 2 computadores. Ele começou a estranhar o meu setup profissional, tentava sempre ficar com um. Aqui, nunca cedia. Nunca.
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Um dia adoeceu. Começou a ficar muito apático, sem ação. Levei ao veterinário onde ficou 2 dias em observação e exames. O pior cenário aconteceu, o seu fígado já estava completamente doente porque tinha comido algo que o envenenou.
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Ainda o trouxe para casa, havia 1% de esperança de melhorar com a medicação. Mas não, faleceu dois dias depois bastante débil nos meus braços.
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Pus a hipótese de ter comprado alguma comida gourmet estragada. Mas, em conversa com vizinhos, fiquei a saber que naquela rua, no prazo de um mês, outros 4 gatos tinham falecido por envenenamento.
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Fiquei chocado. Fiz a mochila e fui uma semana para casa dos meus pais fazer o luto. Era impossível estar naquela casa sem o gato. Para cada canto que olhava eram mil memórias que me vinham. Comecei a ficar deprimido e com uma vontade imensa de tentar descobrir o autor de tal genocidio felino. Não ía ser bom para mim, nem para ele.
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Resolvi então, entregar a casa e procura outra para viver. Desde essa altura nunca mais me consegui prender a um felino. Isto porque, com o falecimento do meu pai em 2019, fui viver com a minha mãe. Moramos no 6º andar de um prédio e, mesmo sabendo que há gatos que resistem a viver em apartamento, julgo contra natura. Um felino tem de sair, tem de passear e caçar, tem de se reproduzir.
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Resta-me as memórias do “Pintinhas”.
I had no idea it was international Feline friend day! This post filled my heart and broke it simultaneously 😻😿 May Pintinhas rest in peace 💜🙏 Can literally feel the beautiful bond between you both in the photos alone. My best friend Xander passed away at 3yo back in 2022 from a cayote attack since he was indoor/outdoor at his leisure; our time together of only 3 years from kitten-hood was extremely short-lived; but I've never experienced such a strong bond & unconditional love with another Being before or since; I miss him so fucking much. Hope you don't mind me sharing a couple photos here in memory.
Hey brother, I understand this feeling of loss. It's always sad, but death from illness or an animal attack makes us even sadder.
Yours was also very beautiful. All brindle.
Sharing these feelings helps lessen the loss. I appreciate your comment.
Much strength 💪😸
Appreciate your kind words as well. Much love to our fur friends 💜
!PIZZA
I'm sorry for your loss, he was a beautiful cat
Thank you. Yes, it was very beautiful.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CatsOnCats/comments/1ml9rtv/international_cat_day/
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