Cat's in the Bag

Covered in blue paint and weary from my toils, I sat down with the setting sun, thinking I was finished with a long day of painting my kitchen. Indeed, the painting for the day was over... but the day itself was far from it. In fact, the most eventful part of my day was just then walking in my back door. 

Four neighborhood school girls, some of my newest friends in this first week at Peace Corps site, eagerly entered my half-painted kitchen. 

By their timing and excitement, I knew they had come for more than a casual visit. We exchanged a few words in Malagasy, and I came to understand they had brought a gift for me. They presented a tied-up, nearly empty rice sack...but judging by the size and shape, whatever was inside certainly wasn't rice.

I opened the sack, curiously peered inside, and...surprise! There was terrified and frazzled five-week-old kitten at the bottom of the sack!

A bit alarmed for the kitten's welfare, I hastily reached into the sack to fish her out. That was my first mistake. My second mistake was not letting go until after she bit me four times in succession. The cat was let out of the bag, released in a both a scarring moment for her (emotionally) and a scarring moment for me (physically). After a chaotic episode of her scurrying about in terror, I had an infuriated feline scrunched up in the furthest corner of my room for the rest of the night. A good gift from my community...but a wild one! 

I didn't get a good look at her until the next morning. She wouldn't have anything to do with me, but I was able to observe her from afar and see I was the owner of a white kitten with orange markings and blue eyes. I named her "The Bride" after the main character in "Kill Bill," who is a feisty, dangerous, deadly blonde. Not only was this name in honor of her appearance and our first encounter, but also for my expectation of her eventual skill in hunting and assassinating mice. Named and claimed, this kitten officially became a Peace Corps cat, here to share life and adventures along with me. I just needed to win her over!

Fortunately, I have in fact proved the victor in winning The Bride over. She was still skittish and hostile for the first few days, but after patient and gentle cajoling for about a week, she became perfectly comfortable with me. Now she approaches me, plays with me, and allows me to pick her up at will. In fact, she also enjoys napping on my lap while I'm writing, reading, or watching "Breaking Bad" on my laptop. I feed her dried shrimp, scrambled egg, and a little powdered milk. I think she actually likes being a Peace Corps cat! 

Between living alone, watching TV with my cat, and writing an entire blog post about my cat, I might be in the beginning stages of becoming a crazy cat lady. Yet even if this is true, I am glad to have The Bride. She is entertaining, brings a spirit of energy, makes me feel more settled into my Malagasy home, and so far has at least scared the mice away. With all the challenges and joys let out of the rice sack with her, she has been one of the best surprises I've had so far!

 As you can see, my cat absolutely loves selfies and doesn't

 think they're stupid at all.