Beautiful Inside Out

Tiger was my most prized being and the hardest decision I ever made was to leave her behind in Lebanon. It was not fair on her for me to drag her to Australia because she would have been quarantined for 6-12 months. She was a stunning cat, not just physically, but in her nature. She gave me so much joy.

This blog post�is not intended�to talk about her because I do not feel like bursting into tears right now.

This is going to be a brief reflection on the dynamics of Tiger and Jigalo. Tiger used to rule the roost in our house. She had no hardships. Whenever she demanded anything, we gave in to her needs. She was simply pampered to the maximum. She was so chilled out to be living the life. The photo below speaks for itself.

Fortunately, before I took off to Australia 8 years ago, my brother got Jigalo�at 8 weeks of�age�as a birthday gift. Well I thought it was fortunate because Tiger would have a new companion that would keep her mind off me.

Jigalo�was so energetic and being a kitten, kept hounding and tailing Tiger.

He would even occasionally drum up the confidence to pounce on her. . He grew up to be a very stunning cat inside out. He was just breathtaking to look at and was so smoochey and cuddly.

To my utter dismay, this is how Tiger initially felt about the whole Jigalo situation.

When I left to Australia, both cats were obviously lacking in attention. They did not have me fussing all over them and waiting on them 24/7. My brother was too busy with university while my parents were travelling often. Hence, these poor two were stuck with each other. They hit a crossroads. You can see both of them reflecting hard on their situation and thinking about their future.

I was ecstatic to see them together when I came to visit during my study break. Never did I think ‘Tiger’ would come around to ‘Jigalo’. The amount of swipes he had to endure and hissing fits she blew out of proportion could not possibly succumb to them being together. Tiger had a history of beating up my neighbor’s cats. She was quite vicious and territorial.

Not all cats can get along. You simply can’t force them to bond.

They either click or don’t. More recently, veterinary behaviourists have discovered methods of introducing new cats/kittens to�the household. These methods help smoothen the introduction and allow for a possible succesful interaction between the new and old cat. In this case, these gorgeous things had reached a mutual agreement the hard way. They were not given any�other choice. They simply realised that some company was better than no company.�I almost cried when I came and saw them grooming each other and sleeping together on the couch! Tiger even looked like she felt like she was busted!!!

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Filed under: Favourite Articles, Hardships, My Family Tagged: australia, cat, cats, hounding, introducing new cats, Kitten, Lebanon, medicine, pampered, pets, plus 1, pounce, quarantined, smoochey, socialisation, stunning cat, veterinary behaviourists Source: http://rayyathevet.com/2011/08/03/beautiful-inside-out/

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Rayya The Vet

I was born overseas and grew up in Lebanon. About 9 years ago, I left my family and friends behind to pursue my dream of becoming a veterinarian in Australia.

I have now been out in practice for the past 5 years. I absolutely love being involved with all types of animals and consider it my "calling". Whilst my job can be quite an emotional rollercoaster ride, I cannot fathom doing anything else for as long as I am living. I simply feel blessed every day that I am practicing what I truly love.

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