Stellaluna is my cat! Four years ago I was bartending at an Olive Garden when a cowoker came up to me. She told me her barn cat had just had kittens and they needed to find homes for them as soon as possible. At the time I was considering getting a cat; I finally had my own apartment and no longer lived with someone who was allergic to them. I had my heart set on an orange tabby. But then my coworker turned her phone to me and on the screen was the cutest little ball of white fuzz with the bluest eyes I'd ever seen. I fell in love immediately. I told her I'd take the kitten. I went to petsmart to buy supplies that night and by the weekend, I was bringing home a four-month old kitten in a cardboard box. Since then, Stellaluna has been glued to my hip. She is the biggest mamas-girl-cat I've ever met.
My mom always told me one day I'd have a kid that was exactly like me. I just didn't know she meant that kid would be a cat. Stella is what my mom would call a "velcro child." She's constantly in my lap, on the back of my chair, or circling my feet when I'm walking. It doesn't help that I got her just before quarentine started; after I was laid off of my restaurunt job, I spent endless days with her by my side. She's also the most vocal cat I've ever met - and a total princess. Every day I come home, I get there "where have you been?" treatment from her in indignant meows. The moment she can tell I'm awake, she's crying into my ear to give her attention. If I happen to shift in bed and wake her up, she voices her displeasure with me with no hesitation. I'm sure my mom is having a good laugh about this outcome.
As much as she drives me crazy sometimes, she's my certiifed ESA (emotional support animal). She knows, in that way sensitive animals do, when I'm in distress. She grounds me with her prescence when I'm feeling overwhelemed and checked out. She gives me a reason to come back home every day: taking care of her reminds me to take care of myself. She needs me as much as I need her. Though I have had many, many changes in my life over the last four years, she has remained an unwavering constant. As I write this now, she's sat right next to my desk chair.
Stellaluna's extensive list of nicknames includes but is not limited to: