Moving into my first apartment as an out-of-state student was hard. My parents weren’t there to help me, which put a lot of responsibility on me to finish everything myself. However, there was one thing that offset all that stress: knowing that my family’s newly adopted cat was coming with me. Her name is Augustine, and my parents adopted her about eight months prior. Since our other cat was quite ill-tempered with her, we decided she would come with me, and it has made this experience so much better.
Augustine is a rescue, and unfortunately got feline herpesvirus at some point in the beginning of her life. If she gets stressed, she’ll have a herpes flare-up, which made me quite nervous to fly with her. How inconvenient would it be to take her to the vet immediately upon moving in? Without a car? After buying a plane-approved carrier for her, my mom and I acquired a few things to make the trip easier: pee pads and a towel, FELIWAY spray, some temptation treats, and prescribed medication from the vet to calm her nerves. We made her as comfortable as possible, and I periodically found family bathrooms to take her out and let her stretch her legs in between flights. I was able to mail a litter box and litter to the friend who was picking me up from the airport, so she could have it set up in the car. This way, Augustine could go immediately instead of waiting until we arrived at my new apartment. She had zero accidents though, and she did so well during the trip!
Augustine warmed up to the apartment pretty quickly. I have three roommates, and they all welcome her into their rooms constantly. She’s quite sassy and energetic, and everyone has warmed up to her quickly! She spends most of her waking moments playing with the hundreds of toys she can choose from. We still struggle with keeping her off the kitchen counters though, and she’s even been known to steal or break into our food… At least she doesn’t eat the plants.
This semester has been very exam-heavy for me. I feel like I’m studying for one or two new exams every week. It’s been stressful for me, and I’ve been feeling unorganized. After hours of studying or doing homework, I know she’s in my room with me, and I can take a break and go sit or play with her for a little bit. She may be sassy sometimes, but she’s become very sweet to me. She’s started climbing in bed with me at night and curling up into my side or stomach. If I walk into a room she’s in, she rolls around on her back and meows at me. She sits on the couch with me while I drink my morning coffee. Augustine and I didn’t know each other very well before she moved in with me. I met her over winter break last year for the first time. I didn’t see her again until this past summer. I knew she was a good cat, and it’s hard to deny how adorable she is. She’s a ‘tabico’ cat, so she has the stripes of a tabby and the color patterns of a calico, along with bright green eyes. She’s very vocal and she uses her paws to paw you when she wants attention or food. When I pet her, she licks my hand.
I’ve been settled in for about two months now with Augustine. She knows my class schedule and my sleep schedule (mainly to keep track of when it’s time to eat). I can feel her getting closer to me, and I can feel myself getting so much closer to her. Settling into the semester after summer break is always hard for me, but she’s brought me so much over the last few months for any of the stress to matter. I’m becoming bonded to her. She is my first-ever cat, and she’s mine forever.