We have a cat. Her name is Sara. She is a brown mixed breed. I don't know how old she is and where she was born. I found her in our backyard about two years ago.
As is said, if for every human year a cat ages seven years, Sara is at least fourteen years old. She was apparently an abandoned cat.
It was a cold winter day. I went out to the backyard to dump garbage in the hole there. She was there, eating something from the garbage. When she saw me, she didn't run away, but approached me whining as if asking for food.
About a year before that, we had lost a beloved cat, which was male. His name was Tiger. He was found dead by the roadside. He had apparently been hit by a car. We were very sad then and decided never to keep another cat.
When I heard her whining, I felt very sorry for her, but turned my back on her and came back in the house through the back door of the kitchen. She followed me there and stayed there for a while, then went away somewhere. I felt relieved, but at the same time I worried where she had gone and how she would survive in the cold.
Then that night when I was going to bed in my bedroom upstairs, I heard the whining sound of a cat downstairs at the back door of the kitchen. It was Sara, though we hadn't named her so yet.
I covered my ears tightly so that I didn't hear her whining.
I covered my ears tightly so that I didn't hear her whining.
However, I couldn't help imagining how she was there trembling in the cold night with a hungry stomach. I took my hands off my ears. She was whining still very sadly.
I decided to go down. When I opened the back door, she tried to come in. I picked her up in my arms and took her back in my bed, wondering what I should say to my mother the next morning. Sara shared my pillow with me and slept very soundly in my bed that night.
The next morning, while Sara and I were still in bed, mother came up to wake me up. Alarmed by the sound of mother's footsteps, Sara dashed out of my bed when the door opened and ran away through mother's legs.
Mother was surprised very much and screamed loudly. She asked me what it was. I had to tell her what had happened the previous night. While I was talking, Sara sneaked back into the room and meowed softly.
Mother looked back and found Sara. I was really concerned what mother would say.
To my great relief, she said, "Oh, it's cute. We have missed Tiger so long. It may be time to have another cat. But first let me see whether it is male or female."
So saying, she tried to hold Sara. Sara didn't resist being held by her and kept still in mother's arms. Mother turned Sara over and checked.
"Oh, this is female. If she gets pregnant and bears many kittens, it'll be a lot of trouble. If you want to keep this cat, we have to take her to the veterinarian's tomorrow and have her spayed."
Tiger was also neutered, because we had known that altered cats are healthier and easier to live with.
By the way, do you know that a female cat is 'spayed' and a male cat is 'neutered' when they are altered?
The veterinarian who had neutered Tiger taught me those English words.
The next day I came home as soon as school was over. Mother drove me and Sara to the veterinarian's. I put Sara in a box and took a rear seat with the box beside me. Sara didn't make a fuss, but sat still in the box on our way to the veterinarian's.
Though we hadn't visited the veterinarian for two years since Tiger was killed, he remembered us. At one glance at Sara, he said, "This time you've brought a female cat."
I wondered how he could tell a female from a male so easily. He said that a female cat is easier to keep once it has been spayed.
Since we didn't want to see Sara treated, we waited in the waiting room. The veterinarian had assured us that the operation was very simple and that it would be over very soon.
The spaying operation took only fifteen minutes or so, but to me it seemed as if more than an hour had passed.
Then the veterinarian appeared from the consultation room with Sara in his arms. I ran to him and looked at Sara. She whined softly, but looked fine. I really felt relieved.
Then the veterinarian asked me the cat's name, because he had to fill in the name in the medical record and make a registration card for her subsequent visits.
We hadn't thought of any name for her until then. On the television in the waiting room, an American TV drama was showing and the heroine of the drama was a girl named Sara. So I told the veterinarian that we had just named her Sara. He smiled and said Sara was a good name. He wrote in 'Sara' on her registration card.
This is the story of how we started to keep Sara as our pet. When we keep a cat as a pet, there are many things we have to attend to.
First we have to provide a litter box, partially filled with an even layer of litter. We have to remove the soiled litter daily.
A slotted spatula is used to remove the soiled litter so that only the feces can be scooped up and the litter can be screened through the slots.
Sara refuses to use a badly soiled litter box.
Cats' claws should be trimmed frequently. To prevent damage to furniture, Cats that live indoors should be provided with a scratching post, preferably covered with a rough material, such as sisal rope. A scratching post covered with sisal rope is rather expensive. The one made of cardboard is cheaper. Sara is content with a cardboard scratching post.
Cats use their tongues to clean their coats, and they normally swallow any loose hair. All cats, including short-hairs, should be brushed weekly to remove loose hair; this will help prevent hairballs from forming in their stomachs. A few long-haired breeds, such as the Persian and the Himalayan, require daily combing to prevent their long, soft fur from matting.
So you know, to keep a pet requires a lot of attention and patience, but it is also rewarding to have a warm relationship with a pet.
A beloved pet is really a member of the family.
