"Angel, Ready to Play" Photograph © Cats Hope™
Angel — Learning To Belong
(Angel speaks)
I thought surviving outside had taught me everything.
I knew hunger,
when to keep my distance,
and where to hide.
Then I came home.
There was food in the bowls
and somewhere safe to sleep.
There were people to love.
And there were other cats
whose home this already was.
Finding my place among them
took a little longer.
Especially with Mimi.
“Mimi Taking a Nap”
Photograph © Cats Hope™
Mimi knew her own mind.
She had her routines,
her boundaries,
her own way of doing things.
And I was new.
At first, I thought friendship would be easy.
I tried coming closer.
I tried keeping my distance.
I tried being gentle,
being confident,
and sometimes pushing too hard.
For nearly a year,
I kept trying.
I wanted Mimi to see a friend
when she looked at me.
Eventually, I let her be.
I gave her room
and went about my day.
There were still birds to talk to,
people to greet,
and games to play.
I still rolled over for a tummy rub.
There was plenty of Angel
to go around.
Then one day,
Mimi looked at me.
Paused.
Tossed her head.
She got up,
changed her position,
and looked again.
It was as though she had decided:
All right.
She is all right.
We can be friends.
After all that trying,
her small gesture meant so much.
I had once thought
Mimi simply did not like me.
Over time, I began to understand
more of the life she had known.
For much of her early life,
she had been without
constant feline companionship.
She had grown used to her own company,
her own rhythms,
her own space.
Perhaps I had been asking her
to welcome closeness
before she was ready.
We needed time
to get to know each other.
And when I stopped pressing,
there was room for Mimi
to come towards me in her own way.
"Fast Pals · Angel on the left and Tara on the right"Photograph © CatsHope™
With Tara, friendship came more easily.
We played.
We rested together.
I could be my busy, affectionate self.
Sometimes Tara and Mimi were close.
Sometimes Tara and I were.
Our friendships shifted,
and little by little,
we found room for one another.
I had a place here,
among cats with histories
and habits of their own.
Mimi could be Mimi.
Tara could be Tara.
And I could be Angel.
The cat who had waited
near the bus stop
now had a home,
friends,
and people who loved her.
I had once worked so hard
simply to survive.
Now I was learning
how to live alongside others,
how to give them room,
and how to belong
without disappearing.
Mimi had her own way
of letting me in.
It took time for me to recognise it.
But I was here.
I was Angel.
And I belonged.
“The Happy Trio”
From left to right, Angel, Mimi and Tara
Photograph © CatsHope™
Article By Tiffany Argent, CatsHope™ Ambassador.
Story and images © CatsHope™
Earlier in Angel’s Story: Angel — Nature’s Child
Next in Angel’s Story: Angel — The Night She Fell
