How can I explain to you the importance of cola to me? Let me put it this way,
If there was a sudden earthquake and I could only take one thing from home, it would have to be cola.
In a loose sense, cola is like my first cat. Why do I say that? Because my first cat, Xiaoju, didn't stay with me for long before she died of feline panleukopenia. I only spent less than a week with Xiaoju, so there wasn't much of a bond between us.
Cola is still alive today. I don't know if she's living her life to the fullest, but at least I am trying my best to live and work hard to earn some cat food for her.
The story begins after Xiaoju passed away. I had all the tools for raising a cat, but no cat. So, I needed a cat. It was my first time raising a cat, and I didn't have any specific expectations. I knew very little about cats at that time.
The quickest way to get a cat was obviously through adoption. I found a post on Xianyu, a local online marketplace, that was located in Songgang, where I was at the time. The post was from a girl who loved cats, and her description convinced me to adopt this cat. Below is a photo she took of the cat, completely gray with dirt on its nose.
At that time, I didn't know that she would accompany me for such a long time. It was the end of July to August 2019, and I didn't think too much about it. I contacted the girl directly. It was around noon, and my friend Longge and I rode an electric bike to find the girl who posted the adoption notice.
She was at a company that seemed to be related to car repair or auto parts. After explaining our purpose, the girl asked us to wait while she went to the company's warehouse to check. After a while, she came back and said that she was too timid to catch the cat and suggested that we wait until she caught it before contacting us.
We agreed and went back to wait for her notification. Then, on August 5th, a Monday, around one or two in the afternoon, the girl messaged me saying that she had caught the cat and asked when we could pick it up.
I was still at work, so I said we would go and pick it up right away. I asked Longge to pick up the cat for me after work.
I rushed back home as soon as I finished work and finally met her. She was in a cage, and I can't remember if the cage was given by the girl or if it originally belonged to Xiaoju.
Yes, my room was pink at that time. I painted it myself. She was very cautious. Whenever I got closer, she would move back until she was in a corner. She showed no interest in water or food.
I decided to let her out because a cat without freedom has no soul.
After being released, she hid under the bed. I gave her my clothes, but it was clear that she didn't appreciate it.
This photo was taken at one in the morning, which means I had been paying attention to her since I finished work.
For the first two days, she stayed under the bed most of the time, and I could hardly see her unless I specifically looked for her in the corners. There was no interaction between us.
On the noon of August 9th, she came to sit on me for the first time while I was taking a nap.
On August 10th, she slept on my pillow.
After I woke her up, she remained alert.
Then she looked sleepy.
And then she closed her eyes.
In short, we got to know each other and became familiar with each other's scents.
On August 17th, after three months at home, she was already a cat that could interact with other cats. The cat on my left shoulder is my roommate's cat named Youmi.
On August 29th, she had clear eyes.
You might ask if she ever took a bath or anything like that. The answer is no. I took her to the vet for a check-up, cleaned her ears, and gave her vaccinations. Cats are actually very clean animals with strong self-cleaning abilities. As long as they live in a relatively clean environment, they will be cleaner than the environment itself.
In November, after being with me for three months, she had grown bigger, but she wasn't fat.
After another three months, her body lengthened noticeably, but she didn't get fat.
In January, I took her to be spayed. It was my first time raising a cat, and I chose a method that resulted in a larger incision. In fact, a side incision is sufficient for female cats, and the recovery period is much shorter. I can only say that my lack of experience caused Cola to suffer a bit more, but she made it through.
In February 2020, after the spaying, she recovered well and became a slender beauty.
At the same time, I took another photo that I was very satisfied with. Her body had basically taken shape.
In July 2021, after moving for the second time, she looked strong, but she wasn't.
At that time, I noticed that when I touched the corner of her mouth, she would make a loud noise, and she didn't eat much cat food either. So, on July 20th, I took her to the hospital for a check-up.
Unexpectedly, the problem was quite serious. She had stomatitis, an oral disease that occurs in many stray cats. The definitive solution was to extract all her teeth.
Honestly, I couldn't afford the bill at that time because I was unemployed. I borrowed money from my good friend Longge.
Yes, the same Longge who helped me bring Cola from the previous owner to me.
I also had the same question. Cats eat cat food by crunching it. If you remove her teeth, how will she eat? The doctor told me not to worry. Most of the time, cats swallow their food without chewing. Chewing is only necessary to break down large pieces into smaller ones. I trusted the doctor, and I also looked it up. It's true that it doesn't affect their eating.
I wasn't with her when she had the surgery because I had to go back to my hometown for personal reasons. Longge took care of Cola while she was in the hospital.
On August 3rd, when I was feeling hopeless, I went to the hospital seeking the doctor's advice. After examining me, the doctor told me that I had severe depression and needed medication.
After Cola had her teeth extracted, did anything change? Personally, I think she became more spirited. As for whether the full extraction of her teeth bothered her, I think it did. She used to enjoy eating freeze-dried food, but now she can't bite it, so I break the freeze-dried food into small pieces and powder, and I also switched to smaller pellets of cat food.
The photo below was taken in September of the same year. Cola was sleeping on top of my computer case.
Since then, Cola has been healthy and hasn't had any problems. One year later, in July 2022, she was still doing well.
Another year passed, and Cola had gained some weight, but not as much as me. It was March 2024.
At this point, I can't help but wonder why Cola is so important to me. After all, she's just a cat.
But she has been with me through all my moments of pride and especially through difficult times. She has been with me through five moves, but that's not the reason.
The biggest reason should be that when I wanted to give up on life, I thought about how Cola was still here, and I couldn't die.
Who would take care of her if I died? Even if I entrusted her to the person I trusted the most, she would still be just a cat to that person.
When she was struggling to find enough food while living on the streets, I appeared.
When I couldn't afford to eat, she reminded me to persevere.
Certainly, the human friends who helped me by lending me money were also a decisive factor in my decision to persevere.
But Cola was the reason I persevered. Without her, I wouldn't have thought about holding on or seeking help from my human friends.
Mutual redemption. That's what she means to me.
Cola is still doing well now, and as someone who tends to self-destruct, I have also considered that she will die someday.
The average lifespan of a cat is over ten years, and she has already spent half of her life with me.
I hope she can live for 20 years and give me more time.
That's all for now, but I will come back to make edits.