On the Joys of Belonging

Those of us who love having pets know that there is very little that can compare with the joy of seeing our little furry friend completely satisfied and content. If we've somehow managed to make that precious life a bit happier, we don't feel like, say for instance, a complete failure as a human being. And if we've done that little bit extra, it almost makes us feel as though it's made up for a multitude of, if not sins, then perhaps "shortcomings" would be a good word.

I live in a basement apartment. A one-room basement apartment. Bijou, my recently adopted kitty, finds the space adequate, but that's because she's never lived somewhere where the afternoon sun comes shining in on a comfy chair or couch. She's content to sit on various chairs and hasn't complained that there's no sun to warm her. I, however, am quite aware of this particular shortcoming, since napping on the couch in a pool of sunlight in the afternoon was one of my favourite things to do! And I feel badly for kitty that she hasn't known this particular bliss - yet.

But I have done something right. I've been making her food.

Real food. Chicken. Fish. Beef. And she loves it - the way the cats in all the cat food commercials lunge for their food. I just finished watching her finish her plate - and darn nearly lick the pattern off said plate!

Today's menu is chicken. And here's how it works:

First, you cook the meat whichever way you would for yourself. In this case, I pan-sauteed two chicken breasts in oil, salt & pepper. One for me, one for her. Hers, of course, will last her six dinners.

After the chicken had thoroughly cooled, I chopped it up into very tiny bits. I prefer to do this by hand, so that some texture of the meat remains.

I made oatmeal - 1/2 cup of oatmeal in 1 cup of chicken broth. And a pinch of salt to taste. If I wouldn't like it, why should she? And mixed the cooked oatmeal with the chicken, and let that cool.

I grated one carrot, separately, mind you. The idea is to put some fresh crunch into the food. And it wouldn't be fresh if I stuck it all in at once. Fresh means "just before you go to eat it" in any language. I put about a teaspoon of grated carrot onto the plate with 3 tablespoons of chicken/oatmeal. The rest of the grated carrot is covered and put in the fridge.

The pièce de résistance today was the teaspoon of cottage cheese added to this mix. Oh, my, did she EVER like that! I watched as she'd pick up a piece and give it a careful and thorough chewing. She loved it.

As I said, there's only the pattern left on her plate, and she's had a lovely bath and is now settled in for a LONG nap, as happy as it is possible for a kitty to be.

I done good.

While I live in my basement apartment, with occasional visits from Hubby, and occasional visits "home", and try to figure out what the **** I want in life, it's nice to know there is someone waiting for me to come home from work. Someone who not only needs me to make her food, but who LOVES my food. Someone who enjoys playing with me. Someone who enjoys being petted and loved and kissed.

Someone to belong to.