Second Life- My Journey as a Cat
Hi my name is Jessica Rabbit! I am generally shy, but let me tell you more about myself. I am a domestic shorthair female cat with grey and orange fur. I prefer to sit and observe instead of moving around and playing, as you can tell by these lovely pictures below.
Also, I dislike purring, hissing, or making any other noise. You can determine my emotions by my body behaviors, not by my sounds. Although I am spayed, I am not declawed; do not fret, I would never bite or hurt you!
One important fact that you should know is that nobody has ever heard me make a vocal noise. Of course I cried when I was first born, just like all little kittens, so it is not true that I cannot speak; rather, I choose not to. Like I mentioned before, I prefer communicating through body behavior, not through noise. One reason is that whenever I see other cats purring, whoever is with the cat usually makes a high-pitched noise. It sounds something like this: “awwwww!” I find that noise to be annoying; it hurts my eardrums. Please, try conversing with me in a normal voice, as an equal, as an earthling. We are not so different that you must treat me as a cute baby. However, that’s not the only reason that I don’t speak. I find it easier to sit and observe when I am quiet. If I start purring, hissing, playing with fellow cats, or even playing with humans, how can I observe others when all they want to do is observe me?
This is why I stay away from other cats. All the other cats think that I am stuck-up when I do not want to play with them. I am not an arrogant or an antisocial cat. I simply enjoy myself in my own way. I like being a unique and independent cat. I will not succumb to peer pressure. Some humans dislike my actions and behaviors. They think that I am a boring cat. They would rather adopt a hyper, energetic, and playful cat which will always seek attention. I admit that from your point of view, an energetic cat is appealing. However, imagine this: what if, after a long day of work, all you want to do is go to sleep and relax in your warm, comfortable bed, yet you have a noisy, playful cat that is constantly demanding attention? Well, I am not one of those types of cats, so you do not need to worry about me rubbing against your leg all the time.
I should also tell you that I like humans who I see often and are nice to me. One time, this nice young boy travelled a long distance just to come visit me! At first, I didn’t want to go near him; I just wanted to watch his behavior. After some time, however, I decided that he had a benevolent personality, so I approached him. I sniffed his hand to make sure he was friend, not foe. He was friendly and I liked him. It made me nervous that he carried a camera with him though. I am camera-shy; I run away whenever I see that bright white flash. I only interacted with him for a short while; my natural place is on the sidelines, not in the field.
After this heartwarming story, I am sure that you’re reaching for your car keys right now, but please wait! Before you hurry over to the adoption center to pick me up, I want to inform you about a special condition that I have: FIV. FIV stands for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, a disease that only affects cats, as you might have guessed by the name. I probably contracted it through a bite or a scratch from another FIV positive cat. You don’t need to worry; it is impossible to pass the virus to a human! However, if I ever do get sick, I must be taken to the vet immediately, since I have a weakened immune system from the virus. Luckily, there is treatment available. Medicine such as immune-enhancing drugs has been proven to be effective. It is expensive though, so I hope that you will be able to spare a little change in exchange for a cat like me!
Humans always think that a cat with FIV is a “problem” cat and so most humans do not even approach me. Once you get to know me better though, you will understand that I am the complete opposite of a “problem” cat. So, if you want to see or interact with me, you should stop by the PETCO where I am at right now. I am at PETCO every day, looking for somebody to take me with them. I hope you will be the one to do so. I just want to be able to call a place home.
When I first received this assignment, I had mixed feelings. I adore animals and I also love how this project incorporates direct contact with animals. However, the project seemed like a lot of work. I knew from the beginning that I would have to put in an enormous amount of effort to get a good grade. I also decided not to make a judgment about the project until after I am done with it. The first problem I encountered was transportation; I would have to plan a bus trip or ask a friend to take me to the chosen location. Fortunately, Karina had a car so she could take me with her to the PETCO at Sunset Valley.
While I was at PETCO, I talked to some of the volunteers there about what they do. I was amazed by the dedication of the volunteers. For some odd reason, as I was speaking to them, I felt ashamed. I used to volunteer in high school, but I have not participated in any volunteering activities since I came to Austin. While I was at PETCO, I resolved to volunteer more while in college.
Of course, we didn’t talk to just the volunteers there; we also talked to the animals at PETCO. Although I am not a big fan of cats, I still thought the cats were adorable. Most of the cats were cheerful and active, but I noticed that some cats were quiet or simply kept to themselves. I figured that those cats were the ones that had the most trouble getting adopted, so I decided to write a bio for one of those cats: Jessica Rabbit.
I initially found it hard to connect with Jessica Rabbit. She was a quiet cat and did not make many attempts to play with me. I also had trouble taking pictures of Jessica; whenever I used my camera, she would run away and hide. Thankfully, with Karina’s help, I obtained some nice pictures of her. In order to take these pictures, I approached Jessica cautiously. After spending much time coaxing her, I was able to interact with her a little. She even started cuddling with my hand and eventually started to lick it!
She only stayed around me for a short time; she retreated back into her hiding spot quickly. Still, even as I left PETCO, I was happy that Jessica opened up to me. Later on, however, I realized that I forgot to take a video of her. I had to find a bus route that would go all the way to Sunset Valley.
I was not looking forward to taking the bus to Sunset Valley; in my experience, public transportation usually leads to problems. Just as I thought, an unexpected event occurred while I was waiting at the bus stop. The bus to Sunset Valley arrived an hour late, so it was already 7:40 by the time I got to PETCO. I was worried, since the APA! volunteers would close the adoption center at 8:00. Luckily I had time to take a video and play with Jessica Rabbit for some time. In the hopes of helping Jessica get adopted, I later posted the video I took on my Youtube account as well.
When I talked to the volunteer again, she told me that they found out that Jessica Rabbit is FIV positive. I knew I had top place this information in my bio and blog somehow, so I decided to research the disease in more detail. I wanted to do my best to help Jessica Rabbit find a home. I did this by using sympathetic imagination. I once read that sympathetic imagination uses the ability to understand what “we ourselves would feel in the like situation.”[1] If I can write a good bio about her, I reasoned, surely it will encourage potential adopters to visit Jessica Rabbit. Hopefully, once they visit Jessica, they can use their sympathetic imagination to truly understand Jessica and adopt her. Thus, my goals were laid out for me.
It was not hard to write a bio about Jessica. The most difficult part was writing in the point of view of Jessica and using sympathetic imagination. I have been trying to apply sympathetic imagination in my daily life, but I still find it difficult to do so. After all, when it comes to animals, “we are outsiders, peering in, unable to inhabit their lives.”[2] However, I thought about what I have done in class involving sympathy, empathy, meditation, and connecting with others. By writing in the point of view of Jessica, I have improved in all of these aspects. Now I also understand animals better. I understand what it feels like to live without having a place to call home. Hopefully, what I have done for Jessica will change her reality and will help her find the place called home.
Word count with quotes: 1675
Word count without quotes: 1657
URL of the Blog: kseenivasan.blogspot.com
Appendix
Jessica Rabbit’s Bio
Shy-Companionate-Adorable
Jessica
Rabbit is a lovely grey orange shorthair mix that can be quite quiet at times.
When other cats are busy playing, she might be the one in the corner, looking
as if she is contemplating some mystery. She does not crave attention like many
other cats but if she is shown some, she can be incredibly fun to play with!
Jessica may nip at times, slap her paw at your hand, and even lick you! On the
other hand, she likes to find places to hide when she feels uncomfortable. If
she feels that she wants to be alone for some time, she will avoid eye contact
with you. It is best to respect Jessica Rabbit’s wishes; eventually, she will
lose some shyness around you and you will understand her better.
Jessica
is not a very vocal cat; she prefers to speak through actions instead of words.
She may flick her tail back and forth to signal pleasure or annoyance, instead
of purring or hissing. Jessica hardly ever gets annoyed; she is a sweet, young
feline. She behaves well with other animals, including dogs, and never tries to
hurt people, including children. She is only a year and two months old, so she
will be a cat that you can love for a long time to come.
Although
Jessica Rabbit is FIV+, please don't let that stop you from adopting her! Cats
with this condition can live perfectly long, happy, healthy lives. FIV is
passed through blood transfusions and through serious, penetrating bite wounds;
for more information, visit http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/fiv.html.
All
APA! foster kittens/cats are litter box trained, tested for FeLV/FIV, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, treated for
worms/fleas, microchipped and come with a
30-day health insurance plan.
If you have additional
questions about Jessica Rabbit, please send an email to
adopt@austinpetsalive.org.
NOTE: A screenshot of this bio on the APA! website is not available because Jessica Rabbit was adopted before the volunteers had a chance to place the bio on the site.
List of Illustrations
figure I Me Sitting
figure II Me Observing
figure III Jessica Cuddling
figure IV Jessica Licking
Figure V Screenshot of Jessica Rabbit’s Video