The King of Cats

I present to the Hive cat community my new best friend, Luxembourg, the king of cats. He is almost a year old now! He came to me on March 3rd of last year. I remember it well.

I was accompanying two uncles very early in the morning all the way to Zamora, City of Light, the sister city of Paris. It was cold, still dark, and cramped in the single cab of the pickup truck. Pancho drove. He needed more fresh produce and other merchandise for his store in our village. I'm used to casually browsing the sprawling open air markets surrounding the central plaza, but this time we were quickly moving throughout the warehouse district buying in bulk. There, in a warehouse among the hustle and bustle of shipping and receiving, was a small but very pregnant cat. She did not shy away when I pet her. I asked her caretaker when she would be due but the woman instead directed me to the rear of the warehouse where there was a litter of tiny kittens holding a wrestling match.
It didn't take very long at all for me to pick up the cutest one of the bunch. So I put him in my sweater pocket, said goodbye, and quickly left to find my uncles a few bulkheads down the way. I followed them back and forth to a few more loading bays until the bed of our pickup was finally full of tomatoes, mangoes, chiles, bananas and everything else.

"Meow!"

"What's that sound?" asked Charly. He and Pancho both chuckled when I pulled a tiny kitten from my pocket. Then the barrage of usual questions came. Where will he sleep? What will he eat? and so on and so forth. Not to worry. Everything would be okay.

And very soon the issue of what will he eat became a reality, for small kittens eat like baby birds. He was so tiny that it was clear he still needed milk, but cow's milk is bad for cats. Cats are lactose intolerant so a kitten could potentially die of diarrhea. What a way to go. Luckily, there's a big clan of goat farmers in the village and goat milk, which is low in lactose, is a very good alternative! I ended up getting hooked on the stuff, too! Little by little, I would also start to supplement his diet with scraps that the butcher would give us like chicken skin, hearts, and gizzards which he would eat with ferocity (and threatening growls).

Being a full-time mother was not easy. Little Luxe was not potty trained so would freely relieve himself in many a hidden corner, only to be found later. He had a rampant case of fleas but two warm baths eradicated them. Then there was the issue of his eyes. If Luxe was to appear healthy enough to travel out of the country, then his infection would need to be cured and not just washed. Our trips into town to the vet also served to condition him to sit quietly in a carrier. Only I didn't have a carrier (yet) so I used a small bird cage.

That vet supplied me with special eyedrops and a proper pet carrier. He even falsified Luxe's documents so that they claimed he was 6 months old, which was double his actual age. That was the only way I was able to leave the country with him. It was either that or marry him! The vet said to burn the documents on arrival.

He's been living with me ever since. Luxe is the first cat that is truly mine. I was responsible for all his needs and mishaps. He favors me over anyone else and, well, how could he not? He is always at my side and even follows me to the bathroom like a little puppy. He is also fearless. Last 4th of July he didn't hide at all but would stand up straight, challenging every pop and bang outside our house. When the central heater would explode (don't worry, it's fixed now) he would run over to investigate, unlike my senior cat who runs away at everything. Even me.

That's probably the biggest issue I'm working on overcoming now. The relationship between Luxe and my other cat (not shown) is tense. If she moves, he bolts after her. If she stays still, Luxe stares at her like a bully. But they've eaten side by side peacefully before. I think he means no harm. He probably just likes to chase but my senior cat responds with hisses and little scratches on the nose sometimes. I'm trying to train them both to just take a deep breath and stay calm around each other. Easier said than done. We're not there yet but I think I'm making progress.

I have to be careful the way I project my voice. Several times I came off too strong, which caused Luxe to turn on me. Those moments are truly scary. His eyes widen, brow furrows, ears go back, and the low growl. His claws are spears and his teeth are swords. He usually goes for the ankles or the back of the knee. I have some battle scars. Other than those few rebellious moments, he is very friendly and playful. The pillow he's wrestling with in the picture is his arch nemesis. He would pounce on it and even do that alligator bite-spin move. He's very acrobatic and full of energy in general. It's his hormones. He is intact but I am planning to take him to a new vet soon to get him neutered, the poor thing. I feel bad for him sometimes, when I think about it. I try to tell myself that it is for his own good. Maybe he will be less stressed over the territorial battle with my senior cat. Maybe it will cause him to not pee on my pillow again. Who can say?

Here's to many more years together, Luxe! I hope I've made you as happy as you've made me!