I adopted Wade after I divorced my ex wife. I didn’t want to split her from the cats we adopted together since I was leaving her and all.
So, after she moved out I was struggling with a lot of stress and decided I’d sure like another companion since I was missing the cats I did have.
After some searching, I found Wade for sale at a pet store. He’s a beautiful brown tabby, with classic brown/black striping, and a pretty big boy all things considered, real pair of mittens on him.
I knew that we were meant to be when I opened his cage, and the first thing he did was headbutt me.
I bring him home, and we get acquainted over time.
I learn that he’s incredibly loving, and chatty, he loves following me around and wants as much attention as possible. I also learn that he’s sneezy, sneezy to the point I go get him checked out.
The vet told me to give him a lysine powder twice a day with some wet food, which will help mitigate the symptoms. No problem, I’m happy to spoil my sweet boy as much as he wants.
I keep up on it, and we move in with a couple of my friends whom I live with for the next 4 years. They adore Wade as well, and he quickly becomes our little sneezy mascot for the house, constantly being showered in attention by either his dad or one of his uncles.
Now, even with the powder treatment, Wade is a sneezy boy. The worst part is feeling awful for him when he’s sneezing, knowing how uncomfortable he must be.
Part of our coping mechanism for his sneezing (outside of constant petting, wet food, and adoration) is making fun of Wade for being adorable and useless.
We would regularly hold conversations with Wade (he’s got a lot to say), responding to his meows in outrage at how offensive he could be, and reminding him that he’d never survive out in the wild with nobody to make his wet food for him (I mix it with a little hot water, and change the blend for every feeding, who wouldn’t want some variety in their diet)?
.
So, one afternoon, I’m sitting in our screened in porch having a drink with one of my roommates while Wade keeps us company. As we’re talking, there’s a moth flying around our heads that Wade is watching intently.
We’re sitting in lawn chairs so the moth is probably only 4 feet off the ground or so. As we sit and drink, we’re joking around and berating Wade for being so lazy as this moth flits about without a care in the world.
We joke and joke, as Wade sits there, receiving head scratches and watching the moth.
After about 10 minutes of goofery, the moth dips slightly lower than it had before, and Wade LAUNCHES off the ground, and in one motion catches the moth between his paws and brings it down to the ground and then EATS IT IN FRONT OF US.
From that moment on, we showed Wade the respect he deserves as an unparalleled hunter, even if he is a lazy little mofo.