My cat is an empath, and he looks out for me!
My partner in my first relationship ever broke up with me a few weeks ago. Right before the holidays too. The minute I came home from the unfortunate affair, Winston, my cat, scurried up to me while letting out his darling chirping mews. I plopped on the couch and cried hysterically while Winston rubbed up against my legs. Every day since then, he very lovingly comes up to me for pets and cuddles. Only a few months ago, Winston could not give two shits about me. He would hide under the TV console and cower away anytime he saw me. The first time Winston came to me for pets was the day after he met my ex.
On the first date with my ex, he came over and we fooled around a bit. Winston, who barely came out in front of me and my roommate - let alone strangers in the house - came out of the woodwork and watched the two of us canoodle on my couch the whole night. Sorry, I don’t know how to gracefully talk about this. As this man was literally on top of me, I looked to my right and all I could see were two yellow eyes piercing into my soul. What a creep, I thought at the time. But bro was just looking out for me. Bro was warning me. The next morning, Winston scent-marked me for the first time.
We started fostering our cat, Winston, back in May. A once rugged, hard-headed, outdoor cat of the streets of Bed-Stuy, now confined to the modest walls of our Park Slope apartment. Winston came into our lives a scared-y cat with little confidence. He cowered in corners and made the gap under the TV console his home for months. We barely saw him as he only came out to eat and poop at night. I never pet him in all the time he lived with us. Around July, we had enough of this. We wanted him to be comfortable in his new home because, at that point, we loved him so much that we failed our foster and adopted him ourselves. The people who ran the fostering organization let us borrow a cat playpen so we could socialize him as fast as possible. Every day, we interacted with Winston who was thankfully extremely food-motivated. To our relief, he finally started trusting us after a few weeks and so he graduated from the playpen.
It was the same week that we got rid of the cat playpen when I went on my first date with my ex. After years of not dating because of a myriad of reasons ranging from past traumas, self-hate, and just straight-up fear, I finally felt ready after months of therapy. As soon as I flipped that switch in my brain, a date fell into my lap when some cute guy I met at a club slid into my DMs. We started seeing each other regularly not too soon after meeting. Any time this guy came over, Winston would also come out of his hiding places - not to say hello or chill - but to literally just watch us. It was kind of creepy at first but I got used to it. He would even sneak into my room and hide under my bed when this guy would stay over. I never thought much of it. In fact, I thought it meant Winston liked this guy because Winston seldom reveals himself when there’s company.
I’m in a fragile and delusional state right now so I’m accounting for Winston’s behavior as protection. Since the breakup, Winston has been nothing but loving to me. He has turned into such a sweetheart compared to when he first entered my life. I don’t know if Winston really knew what was going to pan out between me and that guy or if could tell what his intentions were with me but in my current state, I’m going to believe this theory because it makes me feel better. And just a disclaimer, I’m not trying to drag my ex – I know deep in my heart that he’s still a good guy – but what happened hurt me and even a cat knows that. Anyway, I’m okay thanks to my friends and Winston who love me so much. Writing has also immensely helped me during this time.
Thank you for reading about my boy troubles. It’s been so long since I’ve written to you all. I hope 2024 brings me the strength to keep writing. Until next time! xoxo
winston is a little tuxxed angel 😭❤️