Sid the science kid i love my mom song

It started about a year and a half ago, when on a hot summer evening a melodious meowing sounded outside my kitchen door, and I saw two huge burning eyes.

The cat did not jump away when I approached him. What's more, when I leaned over to pet him, he didn't mind at all. He obviously liked it when I spoke to him like a child - you know, with that stupid intonation with which we sometimes talk to other people's children.

When I stroked his head, his gray furry ears, he fell on his back and offered me his soft tummy, purring loudly with pleasure. nine0011

In gratitude for such a display of friendly feelings, I opened a can of tuna, which the cat immediately ate with appetite - and that was it.

I didn't have any thoughts about it that evening, except that it was a nice summer meeting. I fed the cat, did a good deed. The cat liked it too.

• Cats are incorrigible egoists. Or is it slander?
• Abandoned. What stress does to cats
• Why it's important for us to know the truth about cat purring

A few days later the cat returned and we met like good old friends who had not seen each other for a long time. Mutual affection, sniffing - in general, peace and love. I gave the cat food again, he happily had a bite and disappeared, like last time.

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Soon our meetings became daily, and I looked forward to them. The cat began to come into the house, dozed on my sofa and did not mind sleeping with me all night.

My evenings have become very cozy. All the stress of the previous day melted away when my cat and I were curled up on the couch watching TV. Probably, then I needed to stop thinking that maybe it was someone else's cat - he clearly needed affection and food. But I didn't stop...

A couple of months later I bought a cat bed and bowls for food and water. When I came to work and found cat hair on my clothes, I smiled in anticipation of the evening.

I started posting pictures of my cat on social media. Colleagues, noticing this, began to ask me: "Well, how is your cat?" And I answered as if the cat was really mine, refusing to acknowledge the fact that I was a catnapper, a cat thief.

And every time I posted another photo, one of my friends wrote to me in the comments: "THIS IS NOT YOUR CAT." nine0011

You must have heard this: "You don't choose the cat, it chooses you." But what to do if this cat or cat that chose you is neighbors? If they already have an owner?

An Internet search for the hashtag #notmycat ("this is not my cat") showed that my case is a very common occurrence. There were many like me: people enjoyed all the benefits of a cat owner, but at the same time without the corresponding responsibility.

In social networks you can find many serene photos and videos of people and cats that do not officially belong to each other. nine0011

So, is that normal?

"I think cats live by their own rules. I don't think they consciously decide, 'I'm going to use this person for my own purposes.' It's much easier," explains feline behavior consultant Celia Haddon. "When they find a place where they are fed, where a friendly person caresses them, they just try to stay there."

"These animals have one characteristic - they are extremely stubborn. If a cat can sit for hours immobile by a mouse hole, hunting, then in the same way, for hours, it will sit at the door if it wants to enter." nine0011

Later I discovered that an entire book had been written on the subject.

First published in 1990, Six Dinner Sid is a children's book about Sid the cat who lives at number 1 Aristotle Street. But Sid also lives in all the other houses on this street, comes to eat in each of these houses, and each of the owners believes that Sid is his cat.

Unlike the real cats that Celia Haddon talked about, Sid knows exactly what he's doing. But his manipulations surface when he falls ill, he is taken to the vet six times, after which the neighbors finally realize that they were led by the nose. nine0011

The author of the book, Inga Mor, told me that she wrote this story about a black cat she knew when she lived in north London.

"I heard someone call him by a name that sounded like Sid," she says (actually the cat's name was Ziggy). i lived (at number 4) I think his owner lived at number 6. The sid I portrayed in the book is very similar to the real Sid (Ziggy) who inspired me for this story, which I, of course, made up ". nine0011

"Over the years I've had a lot of cats and cats come to me and I've always enjoyed sharing company with them. They seem to have developed the ability to communicate with humans in a different way than with their fellow tribesmen. They know how to get their way from us, they know how to suck up when they need to, or be charming. Therefore, we love them and consider them extraordinary creatures.

Joanna Lodge of Cats Protection, Britain's largest cat charity, says scientists believe that it's the eyes that look like the big eyes of a child that help cats win a human's heart. nine0011

And this explains a lot, including my attempt to talk to a cat like a child, my instinctive desire to feed him, surround him with love and shelter. My maternal instincts just kicked in.

But as time went on, in the months following my introduction to the cat, I began to experience another feeling - a growing sense of guilt.

I regularly searched local websites for missing cat notices, expecting to find a request for help from his owner, but found nothing. nine0011

And then all of a sudden it was over. The cat has disappeared.

I waited for him day and night, went out into the empty garden behind the house and called in vain, feeling abandoned. I started scouring the internet for news of him again - after all, the only reason why he stopped coming to see me could only be a tragedy, right? Was he run over by a car? Perhaps he lies somewhere in a roadside ditch?

But I didn't find any news about the downed cat. I looked sadly at the empty bed where he once slept sweetly, at the plates with untouched food and at the hairs on my clothes, which were very few left. nine0011

And then, in the first weeks of the spring pandemic quarantine, I saw my neighbor and we talked through the garden fence. I kind of accidentally mentioned the cat (on purpose, of course), and a neighbor told me that the owners of my tailed friend had moved.

So, it did have owners! But should I be surprised by this?

At first I felt relieved, and then - as if I had been betrayed. I got really upset. How could they take and take a cat out of my life? nine0011

I went outside, turned the corner and looked longingly at the empty house where the cat once lived. Now there was no sign of life.

But I wasn't going to just give up. I could not imagine that a cat that felt so good with me could be just as happy with his owner in a new home somewhere far away.

I wrote an email to the owner through a realtor, saying that the cat and I lived together for quite a long time, and suggesting that if the cat does not settle down in a new place, take him to my place for permanent residence. nine0011

It seems to me, I wrote, that the cat and I were made for each other, and our friendship was interrupted without the consent of both parties (well, or something like that).

The owner answered my email. His name was David. David has two cats, Henry and Eddie (the latter "often disappeared for days"). We have moved to Lincolnshire, David wrote to me (it's 120 miles away).

"The cats like the semi-rural lifestyle, they feel good here, they are happy that we are now with them all day," he added. "And, of course, we are not going to part with any of them." nine0011

He suggested that I get my own cat. "Our cats are purebred - British Shorthair. You can find a breeder - kittens of this breed are adorable. "

But at that time I couldn't even think of another cat. After all, Eddie chose me.

In my next email to David, I confessed - in full detail - to my role in Eddie's disappearances. I was tormented by remorse.

David told me that Eddie's disappearances were terribly distressing for his family. “We didn’t know what to think - either he was hit by a car, or he was stolen, or he was locked up somewhere, and he can’t get out. Or he’s just looking for adventure,” he wrote. nine0011

"We knew that Eddie might not come for a day or more. Usually this coincided with our departure somewhere for a few days. In such cases, we arranged with one of our friends who came to feed the cats and play with them. But it often happened so that we returned, and Eddie was not at home. In fact, every time this happened, we involuntarily wondered: will we see him again? We almost decided that we would not go anywhere at all. "

• Do not feed the cat
• Check if he is microchipped
• Try to find his owners through social networks, local groups online, search for missing listings
• Write to the owner of the cat and attach a letter to the collar (there are such special collars)
• Contact your local animal shelter or Animal Protection Volunteers

Tips from Cats Protection

I fully understood these feelings and partly wished that Eddie never came into my life. I deleted all posts with him from social networks. I felt terrible. nine0011

I asked David if he felt irritated by my letters explaining what had happened. To which he replied: “We know the pain that you and your family members experienced after losing a cat that has become very dear to you, and we sympathize with you, no annoyance. We even felt a little better, because we finally understood what happened to him. That he did not suffer, did not freeze, was not alone. "

And he also wrote that it's one thing to play with a cat that ran into your garden, and quite another to feed him. He strongly advised me not to do the latter. nine0011

"We could even arrange for you to feed both cats at our house while we are away," he wrote. "But never indulge a cat's desire to live in someone else's house. It will be a huge stress for his owners."

"Some cats behave like wild animals, you can't get close to them," explains Joanna Lodge. "But if a cat or a cat behaves in a friendly way, this indicates that they once had or now have an owner. "

Joanna Cats Protection, when you're not sure if your cat has an owner, offers to put on a paper collar that says "Am I yours?". This should notify the owner (if any) that someone cares about the fate of the cat. nine0011

"People have several areas of responsibility in relation to cats," explains Joanna. Anyone who has an unfamiliar cat in the garden should try to find out if the animal has an owner - or contact us and we will try to find the owner.

In the second case, she emphasizes, it is a legal responsibility, exactly the same as if you found someone else's thing - you cannot just take it and appropriate it. nine0011

***

As winter approached and the days got shorter and shorter, I kept thinking about David's words about getting my own cat. It never occurred to me before how much I needed someone furry and purring in my lap in these times of uncertainty and unpredictability.

And in anticipation of a disturbing winter, I made up my mind. I adopted a 12 week old British Shorthair. His coat is the color of coffee latte, and his name is Horace.

I have no plans to share Horace with anyone. But now I know that not everything depends on me. So if you see Horace at your door, you know what to do.

Horace the Cat on Instagram

A 1.21 meter tall girl found the key to a vibrant and active life in Voronezh

Local woman - frankly and optimistically about herself.

Maria Garshina is a small person with big interests. The height of a 23-year-old girl is 1 meter 21 centimeters, but this does not prevent her from leading an active lifestyle, driving a car, skiing, playing in the theater and becoming a fan of hockey. nine0011

About life in a million-plus city, hobbies and a theater troupe - in an interview with Notebook Voronezh.

- Masha, do you have dwarfism?

- I have achondroplasia. Dwarfs are small from birth, and with achondroplasia, hormones do not fully develop and growth inhibition occurs.

- Is dwarf an offensive word for you?

- No, I'm already used to people confusing these diagnoses. nine0011

- What can offend you?

- At the moment, there was nothing that someone hooked me and offended me greatly.

- What is your life motto?

- Go forward and don't look back. I have always had it, I aim to strive for what I want.

- Do you feel like you are in the land of giants? nine0011

- Previously, yes, now no. I have come to terms with the fact that everyone is different. Some are fat, some are thin, some are small, some are big, some are bald, some are not.

- How did you get into the Theater of Equals?

- I was in the ninth grade. I got a call from the rehabilitation center "Crystal" and offered to come to audition for the theater. It was necessary to perform something, I decided to read the poem “At the Lukomorye there is a green oak”. When I told him, I sat down to listen to the others and realized that people revealed themselves more. Then I decided to sing the song "Mama" by Louna and make a wheel. That's probably why I got hired. Then I already thought not to go, because I was afraid, because in the troupe half of the healthy guys, half of the disabled. I thought how healthy guys would treat us. As a result, I went to the first meeting, where we all rallied. nine0011

- What character would you like to play?

- I am ready to play everyone, even Baba Yaga, as much as her children do not like, but I would play.

- Are you touring?

- The first tour was in Munich in Germany, performed at a foreign festival. Before the quarantine, they were in Penza, went to Moscow, to Kursk. It's hard to remember all the cities.

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- In addition to the theater, are you also interested in hockey? What draws you to this sport?

- I started to like hockey after watching the series "Molodezhka". It became interesting to me how it all looks live, then I found out that in our city there is a hockey club "Buran". Now I enjoy playing games.

- What else do you do?

- I like to ride a car, I used to ride an ATV, I go skiing. I am extreme and for any movement. nine0011

- Surely, people pay attention to you outside the stage, how do you react to the glances of passers-by?

- Before the theater, it really caught me. I didn’t want to go out, and then I saw some advantages in this. When I see a child who asks his mother to buy a toy, I go up to him and say that I didn’t eat porridge in my childhood, that’s why I’m so small. A child leads his mother from toys to the counter with cereals. Recently, a child called me Smurf. nine0011

- Was it difficult during your school years?

- No, the class was kind, sociable. My parents thought that they would offend me, but there was nothing like that.

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