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| Name: |
Genie
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Age: |
Eight years old
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| Gender: |
Female
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Kind: |
Cat
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| Home: |
Spring Valley, San Diego, California, USA
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My
cat is special because she has an amazing story and has changed from
the time I first met her to the cat I know today.
When I first met Genie I was a little girl and she was a family friend's
cat. She was and still is chunky, and the most quietest cat I had ever
met. Her past owner would treat her like a Goddess. Genie never meowed
because she never had a need for it since her previous owner kept her food
bowl full. Genie only needed to give her owner a look, and food or treats
appeared. When her owner's husband passed away she wanted to move back to
South Korea. She could not take her two beloved cats, Jack and Genie, so
she entrusted us with them.
We already had two cats, Shadow and Sweetie, who were outside and inside
cats. We thought it would be no problem taking care of a couple more. When
Genie came to stay with us, she had some real life changes to face. To
start, she was no longer the center of attention since we had to treat her
equally with the other three cats in the house. This threw her into a
slight depression as the four cats established their comfort zones with
each other and slowly formed a totem pole. However, Genie offset her
depression after having a whole new world opened up to her before her
little kitty eyes.
This whole new world existed outside the house. Previously, she was an
inside cat, and was never allowed outside. All she could do was sit by the
window and dream. She could watch the birds and salivate at the presence
of fresh meat to stalk, fluttering about in the trees she was never
allowed to touch. It was a forbidden fruit for her.
We debated whether or not we should allow her to venture the outside
world. We imagined she would be like an Amish girl on Rumspringa (the
Amish coming of age ritual). Set free into the outside world after years
of being sheltered within her own conservative community, she might never
come back again. But she escaped on her own once before we decided, and
much to our surprise, she actually came back and she never even got stuck
atop any trees or roofs.
Suddenly she was able to express herself in a whole new way. She could
walk around on real dirt, climb up real trees, and chase after real birds.
Something she had only dreamt about before. She was a real cat now, and
she would never be the same again.
It was also around this time where we started to figure out Genie had been
a mute her entire life. Our other cats couldn't stop talking, because this
is how they could get what they want. They figured out by meowing at us,
we would figure out what they want and give it to them. They knew how to
communicate with us. It took Genie a long time to catch on to this. We
swear she didn't know how to talk. She would open her mouth and try to
meow, but nothing would come out. I would often ask, "What's wrong Genie,
cat got your tongue?" To this she would reply with her large wide green
eyes, staring at me blankly.
Eventually, after enough adventures outside, and maybe more experience
with other cats, she learned how to talk, and she started asking for
things like all the other cats.
These changes all took place very slowly, over the course of three years.
If we were able to put the present Genie next to the old Genie you would
see two completely different cats with completely different personalities.
The new Genie loves to lay on your shoulder and be petted consistently,
the old Genie would have rather spent her time alone in a corner, in a
box, or staring out the window. She still stares out the window, but not
for long, since she knows how to ask if she can go outside now.
Her new friends are our pet love birds. She will spend all day on her cat
tree next to the bird cage listening to the birds, probably waiting for
them to make the one mistake that would be their last.
She a very beautiful cat, so much so that I couldn't help but make her my
mascot for my new pet photography business. Genie the adventurous princess.
If you would like to see more photos of Genie, check out my DeviantART page and Facebook.
See more images of Genie!
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