Pepper Turns 2!

Our cat, Pepper, turns 2 today.  It seems like just yesterday that we brought her home from the Silicon Valley Humane Society.  Pepper, who's given name is Tabitha, was brought to the SVHS with her brother Tabloid Lloyd.   They were found roaming the streets alone.  They told us her birthday was probably in August.  After watching her for a while, we were pretty confident that she was the kitten we wanted.  She was gentle and very cute.  She did not hang around with her brother.  Tabloid Lloyd was playing with another cat in a separate cage.  So we felt that it would be alright to separate them.  We brought her home around Thanksgiving 2006 when she was about 3 months old and selected August 8th as her birthday.  Well this year her birthday is the lucky date 8/8/08 which is the same day as the opening ceremonies for the Olympic games in Beijing.  

Pepper has grown up and become a part of our family.  I didn't grow up having pets.   Left to my own devices, I don't think I would have ever thought to have pets.  My parents were not pet loving people and I probably was somewhat afraid of dogs and cats as a child.  Because I was not familiar with them,  I did not know how to act around them.  But almost two years ago, I was pursuaded by my family to go to the pet store to just take a look at some kittens.  Before you knew it, I was whisked off to the Humane Society where we spent 5 hours looking for a kitten to adopt.  I must say that when she first came into our home, I was a bit uncomfortable with having an animal roaming around our house.  I'm a bit of a germaphobe and clean freak and wasn't sure how I would feel about a kitten going through my things.    

I remember when Pepper first arrived at our house, she was very tiny.  She was probably about a pound and very small.  We recall that the first couple of hours she was very scared and hid behind our piano.  The counselors at the Humane Society told us we should keep her in a room at the beginning until she got accustomed to our house.  Ever since then, the office is her room.  Since then, we have trained Pepper not to jump on our furniture or beds.  Although once in a while we will catch her trying to sit on the sofa.  But overall, Pepper is very good with respecting our rules.  

Pepper is such a sweet cat.  She is very friendly and loves to hang around people.  Almost everyone who meets her likes her.  She loves attention and will sit with you or play with you as long as you let her.  My husband used to say he only wanted a dog.  I think he wanted to get a pet and thought that a cat was better than nothing and perhaps we could get a dog later on.  But Pepper's charm and the love she shows us every day quickly melted his heart.  He has turned into a total cat lover.  It is quite obvious that Pepper brings a lot of joy to his life.  He is always happy when he sees her and finds Pepper to be an extraordinary cat and it's no secret how much he loves her.    

Well, I'd say for the first 6-9 months, I would go through days when I would wonder if we had taken on too much bringing Pepper into our home.  There was the hair in the corners and crevices of the house, the hair balls she would vomit that needed to be cleaned up, the maintenance of her kitty litter, feeding, grooming and generally just more work to do everyday.  Going on vacations became another headache since we did not trust cat hotels and didn't have anyone to come check on her.  Eventually, we did entrust my brother and some good friends to come over and play with her when we went away. 

 

Despite how I felt, everyone in the family seemed to think that Pepper loved me the most.  She always followed me around.  She sat next to me every chance she got.  Sometimes I would get a little annoyed when she rubbed up on my leg or sat on my slippers when I watched tv. 

What I have learned over the past year is that Pepper is really an extraordinary pet.  No matter what, she is there for us.  She loves us unconditionally.  She is sweet and gentle.  I think I've realized that when you love someone, you shouldn't let the little things get in the way of that.  I think I've mellowed out a lot when it comes to Pepper.  I've noticed that I don't get so upset anymore when I find her sitting on the sofa.  When she sits on my slippers, I let her and just get another clean pair to wear.  When she throws up hair balls, I just clean it up without giving her attitude.  When we are away, I'm always thinking about her and wondering what she's doing.  Pepper has brought a special love into our lives and brings a warmth into our home that wasn't there before.  I find myself talking to her and telling her I love her more and more each day.  We all love her and expect to celebrate many more birthdays with her in the years to come.