Back in 2015, I made the decision to move to Wilmington. Upon moving, I didn’t know a lot of people down here and basically had to start over in the friend department. When I first moved down here, I was living with two other girls. At first, we got along, but after two months of living with each other, they decided to team up against me and became rude. I was basically kicked out of the apartment and forced to move to another apartment just two months after my big move to Wilmington. At this point, I didn’t have a lot of friends and I was lonely. I started to feel homesick and believed that maybe this wasn’t the best decision for me.
One night, I called my mom crying and told her that I felt alone and that I didn’t belong. I really missed my black lab Brody, who had to stay back in Raleigh with my family. Brody was basically my dog and he did everything with me up until I moved to Wilmington. My mom then suggested I look into adopting a dog. I thought about it for a while, but I felt that having a dog in a small apartment would be a lot of work. She then suggested a cat. I was never really a cat person. Even though I love “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” in which Holly Golightly has a cat, I felt indifferent about owning one myself.
I decided to give adopting a cat a try and began looking at local shelters. I found a local adoption agency called All for Cats. They had a section called “Single Kitties in the City”. What that meant was these cats didn’t get along with other cats or dogs. I related to these cats because I, too, was having a hard time getting along with others. I then saw Gabriella. She was this fluffy little fur ball with a beautiful Calico coat. Her description read that she was a princess and demanded a lot of attention. There was something about Gabby (as I call her, she only gets called Gabriella when she’s in trouble), so I contacted the agency to meet her.
My first meeting with Gabby didn’t go as well as I thought it would. First, she bit me when I went to pet her. She was very timid and wouldn’t come near me. Her foster mom explained to me that she had been homeless for a while and was very sick. The agency had nursed her back to health and she had been adopted a few times and then later returned because she wasn’t very nice to the other pets. I felt a little connection when I heard that about Gabby. I decided to take her with me for the weekend and see if she was a perfect fit. The moment she left her foster home and came to my apartment, she instantly became my little best friend. The first night she spent the night, she slept right next to me and never left my side. She didn’t try to bite or scratch me again during that weekend either. I decided at that point to adopt her and the agency was thrilled.
I have had Gabby for two and a half years now and I absolutely adore her. Turns out, Gabby gets along with other cats and dogs. She loves Brody and my roommate’s cats. She is very independent and loves to sit outside on our porch. She will spend hours outside just chilling or sleeping. She is a little chubby cat. I adopted her at 10 pounds and now she is 16 pounds; she loves her wet food. Gabby is a big mouth, too. She will meow and talk to you for hours! This little fur ball cheers me up when I’m in a bad mood or having a bad day. She has helped me deal with my anxiety and was my first little friend in Wilmington. Even though she can be a demanding diva at times, I love her very much and I am beyond thankful I adopted her and gave her a forever home.
(Photos courtesy of Taylor Winch)