Blake’s Beats // How I Became a Cat Person (Part 3)
Truffle & Brûlée
The year is 2019. It’s Valentine’s Day. My mind contently drifts to thoughts of the romantic evening ahead. Dinner reservations are made, roses stand proudly in their vase, a giant stuffed animal awaits the welcoming gaze from the love of my life.
Everything was going to plan.
Then, without warning, the aforementioned love of my aforementioned life sends me the picture above. Accompanied by it was the following text in reference to the ball of floof on the left: “I want this kitty.”
Oh boy…
“She’s cute,” I replied with a palpable hint of nervous hesitance.
“I truly feel like I need her in my life,” Katie continued.
…OH BOY!
Within seconds my romantic flights of fancy were dashed, overshadowed by a creature who’d only been alive for about as long as my Valentine’s Day plans.
I should have been upset. I should have been disappointed, but I wasn’t feeling either of those sensations. What I WAS feeling was the same sudden, inexplicable feeling Katie was experiencing…I, too, needed this kitten.
As it would turn out, we were far from the only ones undergoing this intensely immediate connection.
Katie found these kittens through Asheville Cat Weirdos, a local organization designed to unite Western North Carolina’s cat-adoring public. Through their website and community activism, ACW provides a safe haven to discuss our furry friends’ intricacies, share light-hearted memes, and most importantly, collect donations for an emergency fund created to financially assist with unforeseen or ill-timed veterinary bills.
In 2018 alone, the Asheville Cat Weirdos Emergency Fund generated nearly $39,000 and provided veterinary assistance to 132 cats.
At the time of this writing, the ACW Facebook group boasts over 11,500 unique members. When Weirdo admin, organizer, and foster parent Nathan Martin shared the first pictures of Truffle, Brûlée (originally named Godiva), and their brother Val(entine), it is without exaggeration that I say these kittens created a full-on, feline frenzy among the 23,000 eyes gazing upon their miniature majesty.
There would be no waiting list, nor process in which to claim the kittens, we were all merely left to anticipate any morsel of information providing updates on their availability. ACW became a well-mannered (for the most part) madhouse. Each subsequent picture posted escalated the fervor further and further, to the point where a special “Cat Cafe” pop-up event was organized by ACW to be held at the ever-excellent Highland Brewing Company, offering Asheville the chance to meet, but not yet adopt, the local cat celebrities.
I should have been upset. I should have been disappointed, but I wasn’t feeling either of those sensations. What I WAS feeling was the same sudden, inexplicable feeling Katie was experiencing…I, too, needed this kitten.
Attending this event would be the proverbial powder keg moment that would soon burst, furever altering my life.
Now, if you’ll recall one of the main takeaways outlined in Part 2, Katie and I were living in an apartment with a strict NO PETS ALLOWED policy at the time. When we suddenly found ourselves attending this pop-up event to see firsthand what all the fuss was about, we did so with guarded reserve.
There was an underlying understanding that no matter how cute these kittens were, no matter how connected we felt our fates were to the furballs, moving forward with any sort of seriousness would open ourselves up to risk.
We didn’t care.
The doors to Highland’s event center swung open, revealing a buzzing, bustling hive of kitten-crazed humans. This place was absolutely bumpin’. Both adults and children alike came out in full force, all with the desperate need to get their hands on these kittens.
As was outlined in Katie’s introductory text, Truffle was the kitten that initially sparked our interest. Something about her, whether it was her cattitude, color scheme, or endearing, undeniable beauty, immediately recalled our dearly-departed Ivory.
Katie and I also felt an instant connection to Brûlée, but the notion of re-entering cat parenthood with not one but TWO kittens seemed like nothing more than a nice, albeit overwhelming, thought…
We pushed that thought to the back of our minds and entered the cat cafe fray in search of little Truff.
Maneuvering ourselves through the crowd, we found Truffy amidst a group gathered around her white and gray splendor. Attendees jockeyed for placement among the queue, lining themselves up to be the next lucky soul to cradle the two-month-old creature. Being the gentleman that I am, I allowed Katie first dibs…even though every impulse in my body told me to abandon all chivalrous instincts and claim the kitty for my own.
Of course, Katie was immediately kitten smitten, just like everyone else. Cats are cute, kittens are even cuter, and baby Truffle was truly the cutest sight you ever did see. Tired from the constant passing ons and shufflings, Truffle looked up at Katie with gentle, drowsy eyes and was soon lulled to sleep by her loving caress.
Seeing my significant other so significantly enraptured by this equally as rapturous being overwhelmingly filled my heart with a joy that was quickly replaced with jealousy.
“Quit bogarting the kitty,” I enviously thought to myself.
In the midst of the crowded congregation, my rightfully-next turn was passed up as Truffle was bewilderingly handed onto some small child hovering around Katie.
…it is without exaggeration that I say these kittens created a full-on, feline frenzy…
The child cradled Truffle and meandered away, dissolving into the crowd before I could sheepishly request to hold her next. I, a grown adult, slithered through the mob in pursuit of a child with a kitten.
With my pride sufficiently swallowed, I finally caught up with the adolescent and politely asked to be the next lucky being graced by the kitten’s presence. The child didn’t seem to care and passed Truffle onto another child. Flustered and frustrated at the blatant disrespect for order, I continued to shadow the group of children, which I’m sure looked completely normal and appropriate.
As a result of childhood negligence, Truffle wound up placed on the floor of the event space unattended by any child or adult, completely left to her own devices.
Now was my chance.
Truffle pressed forward with reckless abandon, strutting her fluffy stuff into the densely-packed group of people. I lept at the opportunity to finally meet the kitten of the hour and carefully scooped her up. She was just as soft as I had imagined she’d be, her small body just as precious and delicate as I figured.
She was perfect.
Before I knew it, my time with Truffle had come to an end as the hungry-eyed group gathered round me and demanded their turn. I, unlike the children before me, honored conventional decency and allowed the next lucky person to handle my future furbaby.
The following moments blur together and my recollection of the exact events has since turned as fuzzy as the kittens, yet somehow, someway, I found myself being handed the bite-sized Brûlée.
I truly was not ready for the moments that would follow.
…the notion of re-entering cat parenthood with not one but TWO kittens seemed like nothing more than a nice, albeit overwhelming, thought…
As soon as I grasped Bru Bru, her tiny, endearing face looked up at me and she let out the tiniest, most precious, squeak of a meow I have ever heard.
Goddammit, did I just fall in love? (Yes.)
Did this kitten just profess her love for ME? (I think so.) What the hell am I doing here? (I don’t know.) Am I about to adopt TWO kittens? (Not yet, but I soon would.)
Katie and I lingered on for a couple of hours after the pop-up cat cafe wound down, sipping delicious craft beer as we attempted to process the moments just experienced.
Just four days following the meet-and-greet, it was announced that Truffle, Brûlée, and Val would finally be available for adoption at the Asheville Humane Society beginning March 2, 2019, at 10 AM. No waiting list, no calling dibs, no luck of the draw. If we wanted these kittens, we needed to make sure we were the first ones waiting in line once 10 AM rolled along.
It was go time.
Katie and I woke that Saturday morning at 6 AM, hurriedly got dressed, then set off in search of our girls. We were in full “Black Friday” mode and would not be denied the kittens we felt so intensely connected to. We arrived right around 6:30 AM and, to our delight, were the first cat-crazed souls to secure our spot.
Fate was on our side that day.
Plopped down in the conveniently-placed rocking chairs in the front of Asheville Humane Society’s building, Katie and I peeled open our books, scrolled on our phones, and ate fast food breakfast as we patiently waited for the doors to open.
Around 10-15 minutes following our arrival, another car pulled up. My mind meandered to thoughts of conflict, of confrontation. I was ready to do whatever I had to do in order to ensure Katie and I were correctly identified as first in line.
When the older gentleman got out of his car and walked over to join the line, there was a palpable sense of awkward tension. That tension was miraculously removed in immediate fashion as the jovial man, Phillip, made his introduction and revealed he had the intent to adopt Val, Truffle and Brûlée’s brother. The three of us collectively exhaled knowing that no conflict, no confrontation, was necessary.
The morning was made to be.
Phillip, Katie, and I hit it off and passed the intervening hours with care-free conversation. We detailed our backstories, regaling the life of Ivory and our brief interlude with Raven in an attempt to explain, both to Phillip and ourselves, what adopting these two kittens would mean to us. Phillip, in turn, did the same, providing perspective on the cat-sized hole in his heart and what bringing home Val would mean to him and his family.
The memories of that made-to-be morning will forever be cherished by that lucky group of three.
Throughout the dwindling hours before opening, a wide variety of eager, would-be adoptees dropped by and quickly dipped out after learning the three siblings had already been spoken for. No joy was taken in the dashing of those hopes, but Phillip, Katie, and I found solace in knowing our stories, our homes, and our love would provide the best possible destination for the kittens.
We were in full “Black Friday” mode and would not be denied the kittens we felt so intensely connected to. We arrived right around 6:30 AM and, to our delight, discovered we were the first cat-crazed souls to secure our spot.
From there, the rest is simply history. The doors finally opened at 10, we scurried into the staging room, and eagerly reintroduced ourselves to the kittens; this time, as their new Mama and Papa.
For nearly three years after losing Ivory, Katie and I had shut ourselves off to the thought of another pet. When we did warm up to the idea, we figured it would be a dog that would bring us back to the pet life.
One way or another, through facing the trauma experienced after losing Ivory, internalizing our life’s seachange, and with a little help from our sable spirit guide Raven, Katie and I became the new adoptive parents of two perfect kittens…
And there, dear reader is where this story ends and the ongoing story of life with Truffle and Brûlée begins. Shortly after adopting our girls, Katie and I found a new, pet-friendly place to live and embarked on the journey of a lifetime as a family of four.
It would take an additional three-part story to adequately describe the ridiculous and endearing personalities of our girls (who am I to shut the door on a potential sequel?). For a visual recounting of those personalities, make sure to follow Truffle and Brûlée on Instagram.
From Truffle’s vocal, hyperactive mischief-making to Brûlée’s guarded exterior and heart-meltingly wholesome interior, these girls have revealed, and continue to reveal, themselves as being undeniably unique and incredible. I’m not sure how I got so lucky.
Maybe the pain imparted following Ivory’s death was necessary to fully acknowledge and understand what a cat’s love meant to me. Perhaps Truffy and Bru Bru could sense the damage within, thus allowing them to open their pure, pristine hearts in order to heal mine.
Whatever the case may be, I know that there is no better fur papa, cat dad, guardian, or caregiver out there for my two girls.
How do I know that?
Because I’m a Cat Person.
And I’m damn proud of it.
