One year living with Yellow
Yellow and her brother and sister came into our lives on September 5th, 2015. Three stray cats that were to stay with us temporarily as a shelter-family. Little did we know how things would turn. Yellow is still with us and she will stay for a lot longer, I hope.
Yellow is a common European cat, one of three cats we received home on the evening of September 5, 2015. The original story, The day I put Little One to rest, explains the setting that led to Yellow staying with us, as the family cat. Or more, as my companion cat, as she hangs around after me most of the day when I am at the office, which is home.
Working at home has its perks, one of them being that you can have animals around. Even if I did not want to have a cat at this stage in life, I am quite happy I decided, due to the circumstances, to keep Yellow. She has become a real company, depending a lot on me, but also giving me unique moments and experiences throughout each new day.
She has also become a model for some of my photography, and a good reason to grab a camera and take some photos, just for the sheer pleasure of registering some of the moments. I am not trying to do anything special, just building memories of a unique relationship built on trust and respect.
I’ve always loved cats and I guess Yellow knows this. So she plays her part in our relationship, being a friendly cat that anyone visiting can touch without fear of being clawed. Either I’ve been lucky with all he cats I had or it is from the way I relate to them, my cats are usually very sociable, at least with people. They will show their claws if attacked — they’re felines, after all — but treat them with respect and they will be soft and reliable.
The calm atmosphere I try to keep at home, even letting soft ambient music playing when I go out, may be part of the recipe. Talking to them, having time to play with them or simply to sit down on the balcony for some time seems to contribute to the behavior people find so unique on Yellow. She even plays hide and seek with me — and others, if they are willing to play following her rules — something that makes people scratch their heads.
So, to celebrate one year of Yellow living with us, I decided to pick a series of photographs showing not only her first days with us, with her brother Black and the Little One, but different photos I’ve taken throughout the year.The chosen photographs are just a small part of a huge collection that keeps growing, and that shows Yellow as she grows and get more comfortable with everything in the house.
She has her own hiding places, where she goes when she wants to be alone — like my older son’s wardrobe, where she made her afternoon nap nest for some days — but most of the time she sleeps over a cardboard box on top of my wife’s desk, right beside my computer desk, a strategic place from where she keeps watching the balcony (hey look those pesky flies are back, let me go and chase them…) and the door to the hall.
On sunny days she will stay for long periods on the balcony, watching the street below, always curious about the movement. She also stays there long periods at night — sometimes I will keep watch with her enjoying the calm of the night and the breeze on a Summer night. The kitchen window is also her favorite, as are the chairs in the living room, where she rests while we watch TV. She wants to be around with us most of the time, really.
She wants so much to be with us and specially with me, that even when I photograph she wants to be around. If I am testing some new product she will probably try to test it herself too, either playing with it or biting it. And she loves to enter my table top setups and be part of the photograph.
It has been a fantastic journey with her, always discovering new things as this one year old cat grows from the skinny figure I first photographed to a cat that feels right at home.
We’re now starting a new phase in this adventure. My younger son returned to live at home, after a couple of years away. He brought a cat with him, a she cat, Luna, two years old, which is not used to having other cats around.
Yellow is not used to have cats around either, she does not remember — I guess — her brother and sister, and seeing Luna has been a new experience for her. She is used to a stray cat that many nights crosses the road under our balcony, but not to a cat that is right inside the house she thought — I presume — was all hers. We’re trying to make them understand that they’ve to share the space and be friends or at least tolerate each other. So I also show here a couple of photographs of Luna.
This is my story of one year living with Yellow. I am happy I’ve changed my mind about having a cat. Now we’ve two… Maybe this will be the fuel for another story, someday in the future. For now I just wanted to celebrate one year of Yellow being with us.
