A Love Story by Lisa Torres
When I was a little girl, I had such a love for animals that my dream was to become a veterinarian someday. Unfortunately, I had severe allergies, especially with animals -- especially with cats. The allergies were so bad that if I stepped into a home that once homed a cat several years ago but no longer, I would break out in hives, my eyes would start tearing, and my throat would begin to close up. "Where is the cat?" I would ask. "We haven't had a cat in here in 2 years!" came the reply. I knew then that I would never be able to become a vet and never be able to have my own cat.
Years went by and I became a teenager. My love of animals and involvement with PETA prompted me to become a vegan and an amateur animal rights activist (passing out pamphlets, boycotting tuna). It was around this time that I began to beg my parents for a dog (even though I was also allergic to dogs). My parents, after consulting with my doctor, decided to get me a poodle. They say that a poodle is an ideal pet for someone with allergies as they shed less than any other dog; even so, I had to bathe the poor dog weekly and continue taking my allergy medication daily. My eyes would still sometimes itch around him.
I loved my red-haired poodle, my "Honeythief," very much, and he made me very happy. However, I did not know it yet, but I was truly a cat person at heart. Cats fascinated me even though (or because) I could never get too close to them.
My Honeythief died while I was at college after 8 years of being our faithful companion. I did not think of getting another dog or animal at the time. I certainly never thought about getting a cat -- until that fateful day several years later...
Meeting Alabaster
I had finished my four years of college and after much searching, had found my first real job in Miami. I moved to a small cottage in The Gables to be close to my boyfriend at the time. The cottage was basically a large room with a bath and a kitchenette attached to a large home which housed a young couple and two cats. The cats were of course prohibited from coming inside my living quarters, although I occasionally petted them and then ran to wash my hands and take a Benadryl.
One day in August of 1994, I went to work as usual at the office park. As I walked from my car to the office, I noticed a cute black and white kitten just sitting there in my path. He looked up at me silently. I thought he was cute and told him so but I knew better than to play with him. When I went to lunch he was still there and he mewed at me -- like saying to me "Here I am -- what are you waiting for?" It was that uncanny ability that we had from the start to communicate with each other. I went to the grocery store across the street and bought him a couple of cans of Friskies. I thought, just because I give him food doesn't mean he will be my cat -- ha! How silly I was to think that! Thinking back on it, it is obvious to me now that this cat was my destiny.
Every morning he waited for me right in front of the space I parked my car. He would follow me to my office and I would give him his can of Friskies. I let him come in and kept him under my desk for a bit. My boss never noticed. I began to bring my Benadryl to work so I could pet him and play with him, but I felt so sad at the end of the day to leave him there at the sidewalk in front of my car, sitting silently and looking up at me as I drove away.
This charade went on for a week. On Friday, he cried ferociously as I went to my car and I decided I would take the kitty to my home for the weekend and bring him back on Monday morning. He was the happiest kitty in the world sitting on my lap as we drove home. I knew nothing about cats and my allergies were in full force in spite of the Benadryl. I named him Alabaster, a name that just came to me as I looked into his bright green eyes.
When we got home we played a bit, I introduced him to the other cats in the neighborhood, and then went in to sleep where he was not allowed. Of course, he protested. Alabaster was a very vocal cat. He was also the most adaptable cat, making friends with all the cats in the neighborhood and quickly making himself at home. It amazed me that he was always thrilled to see me. People say that they love dogs because they are always happy to see you -- well, cats are just the same. He was happy just to be near me as much as possible and he talked to me constantly. Strangely, I understood what he said.
Alabaster Becomes an Indoor Cat
For one week Alabaster and I went to work together and came back home together. On the weekends, we went to PetsMart together for a bath and new toys. His weekly bath helped me tolerate him better allergy-wise. We went everywhere together. I took him with me in the car and carried him around with me as if he were a Chihuahua. We went for walks together with no need for a leash. Alabaster was a very special cat.
The following week, he stayed "home" while I went to work. When I got home, I would walk around the neighborhood and call out "Where's my kitty?" and kitty would answer back "MEOW MEOW" or "Here I am! I'm coming to you!" We would reunite with many cuddles and kisses. He began to come inside my room. In order to tolerate this, I had to be constantly drugged up with Benadryl, Claritin, and caffeine (to counteract the effects of the antihistamines). I noticed that I began to need less and less medicine. I was slowly developing an immunity to cats. I was, in effect, curing myself of the allergies that had plagued me all my life.
One day, Squeeky, one of the neighbor's cats was found dead on the street. He had been run over by a car. I did not want this to happen to my kitty so on that day, Alabaster became an indoor kitty and I became officially a cat person.
Of Fate and Soul Mates
Alabaster was an extraordinary looking cat. I must talk about his remarkable and unusual markings. He was a white cat with perfectly symmetrical black ears, a big black nose, a black chin, black cow spots on his body and a black tail. The most remarkable spots were half circles on each paw that when he sat with his paws together formed a perfect circle, and his "heart shaped" spot right on his chest over where his heart was. Looking back, I see that spot as an indication of what was to come.
My fondest memory is of him sleeping on my chest and purring loudly. I think he liked to feel my beating heart as he fell asleep. His purr was louder than any cat I have heard since, and he had an extraordinarily large cat vocabulary. He would look up at me and chat, sometimes complain, and harangue me if I left for too long. I have no doubt that Alabaster was a cat genius!
When I got home from work, he would tell me all about his day and how happy he was to see me. I expressed the same to him. Our love was mutual and intense. I can't explain it any other way than to say, this cat was my soul mate and this was not the first lifetime that we shared together. I believe that an animal can be a soul mate just as much as another human being. I felt it even then, in the early days. We didn't have to get to know each other because we already knew each other. We understood each other and knew we were meant to be together. It was a "fated" feeling that I have never felt so strongly before. 
To Be Continued
Coming up: Of Commitment and Cardiomiopathy