Today is Opal’s birthday. She’s three-years-old. I don’t know how people with children can say that the time flies by because I can’t believe Opal & Cupid are ONLY as young as they are. I feel like I’ve lived with them my entire life. I suppose it’s because I spend so much time with them.
When I first brought Opal home, I didn’t like her. She was terrified either from the plane ride from CA or just in general because of where she lived; I don’t know. She bit me and drew blood a couple of times and I was done with her. If her breeder didn’t live a plane ride away, I wouldn’t have Opal right now.
I was just tired, frustrated, and disappointed. She was ruining EVERYTHING! Everything that I had hoped would happen, and everything I had hoped it would be. I didn’t send her back home because I didn’t want to do that to her. I kept her because I knew that regardless of how much I didn’t want her at the time, I was still one of the best homes she could’ve ended up in.
I slept in my computer room with Cupid that night, and Opal slept in the living room. Her meowing woke me up the next morning. She became hissy when I tried to touch her, so I didn’t. I had Clint do all of the bite-y things. We moved her into the guest room and there she stayed until she had calmed down and got better. She had an Upper Respiratory Infection, for which I took her to the Vet.
At the Vet’s, I didn’t want to hold her. When they gave her the injection, she leaped into my arms and held me tight. And from that moment on, I’ve loved Opal. She still got over-excited when being pet and played with, so she stayed in her room for a couple of weeks. She meowed loudly every time I wasn’t in there. I finally got her to the point she wasn’t biting, after MUCH frustration and patience.
When I introduced Cupid & Opal, it was the first time I had ever heard Cupid hiss. They finally got to where I could release both of them into the house and supervise their interaction. They never faught, but Cupid wasn’t happy at all. This upset me even more because I got Opal for him in the first place. Yes, O-Pal was to be Cupid’s feline companion for when I wasn’t around, or I needed a break from being Cupid’s personal slave.
Long story short, they started hanging out and eventually got to where they were friends. Opal is sweet, affectionate, loving, loyal, obedient, vocal, cuddly, and intelligent. She is everything I could ever ask for in a cat. To me, she’s absolutely perfect. I went from disliking her to loving her more than I ever thought I could. The thing that stands out about her most is her sweetness. People say Cupid’s sweet when he wants to be pet and will be nice to get what he wants, but Opal is truly sweet. She does things for no reason other than loving you.
I’m going to spend a large part of today doing her favorite things: playing fetch, cuddling, and feeding her. ;)
