Unexpected interspecies friendship

I know, we’re all drowning in coursework, exams and essays. Let me tell you a story that’ll lift you up on a fluffy, kitten-filled cloud for a couple of minutes.

My friend, let’s call her Laura, had just moved to Tilburg to study law. She didn’t know anyone in the city because she’d had to skip the legendary TOP week due to the flu. Since it was September, law school wasn’t trying to kill her slowly with advanced competition law yet. She was laying on the couch, bored, eyeing at a low-quality reality show on TV.

Then she saw something move under the curtain. First she blamed it on the couple of beers she’d consumed during the evening.

Then the intruder stuck its head from the creamy-colored chiffon and meowed. After recovering from the shock, Laura attempted to approach the cat, but he jumped out of the terrace door he had also entered from.

The cat returned the following day, and he brought enforcement troops with him – his brother, most likely. Laura was delighted and fed the duo the whole package of roast beef she had in her fridge.

The firstcomer was as handsome as a cat can be: orange tabby colored with a long, striped tail. His fur was silky to the touch, his eyes green as emeralds. Laura started calling him Peter, and his brown-black, chubby fellow was named Moses. A rather biblical theme for an atheist, Laura giggled to herself.

Maybe it was for the cold cuts, maybe for Laura’s admiration, but the cats started paying daily visits. Slowly, they conquered Laura’s heart – and her home. They napped on the bed, sat on top of the dvd-player and gnawed on the breadcrumbs they found under the table. When Laura’s boyfriend moved to the apartment from his home country, he too fell in love with the feline friends. He even got them toys and kitty treats.

It was a mutually beneficial relationship. The cats got a second home where they were given infinite pats and delicacies. Laura and her boyfriend were given a tryout period of being cat owners without having to invest in a litterbox or cat vaccinations.

The cats comforted me through a difficult period as well. When our student house burned down, I stayed on Laura’s couch for two weeks. I had to fight Peter for a napping spot, but watching a perfectly happy, drowsy kitten fall asleep on my lap made me feel good as well.

As abruptly as Peter had meowed himself into Laura’s life, he and his brother also disappeared. As they both stopped coming at once, Laura suspects their owners have moved away. Laura and her boyfriend are left with approximately 50.000 thousands cat pictures and videos to remind of the the two.

Friends, also four-legged ones, come and go. Live in the moment and share your food, while you still can.

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