貓故事：billi/Oliver

 今天我要講一個有點開心也有點難過的貓故事。

起源：2021 七月

如果大家追蹤我的英文IG @chaiwithping (中文的是 @chaiwithpingcn)，就會看到這近兩個月中，常常有隻鄰居沒有項圈的貓來我們家打卡。我跟陸陸也超級愛牠，經過朋友鑑定，大家都認為她是女生，所以我們就叫牠Billi，也就是印地語的母貓的意思。這段時間中，我們很納悶為什麼Billi都會開櫃子跟抽屜，還會直接睡在沙發跟床尾，我們認為她一定有主人，但三月時在Nextdoor 鄰舍網站上問了一次，一個家庭來認之後，說不是他們的貓，也認定她是女生。還有幾個人訊息來回之後也確定不是他們的橘貓，我們就開心的看她每天來家裡打卡、吃飯跟睡回籠覺。大家都以為我們家養貓了，但其實就是一個串門子的狀態~

貓日常

我們的日常就是，每天早上八點多，我去廚房煮熱水，她可能就會在我們陽台的架子上睡覺，或是直接在門口跟我打招呼，我讓她進廚房吃早餐，然後她會把全家走一遍，跳到廁所的洗手台摸摸鏡子中的自己，接著一口接一口地喝罐子裡的水。接著，她會選定我辦公室的沙發，或是客廳的沙發，變成一捲貓，睡大覺。我每次去推沙發，她都會發出一種，幹嘛~的聲音。中午起來吃點午餐，有時候午餐後吃完出去玩，再回來吃晚餐，有時候則是睡到晚餐後再離開我們家。她每次出到陽台都會先坐在陽台上思考跟看天空，再優雅地離開，很少會直接出門就往巷子走。我跟陸陸也非常享受她的陪伴，好幾次跟朋友聚餐時，我們都會耳朵很尖地聽到她在後門喵喵叫。朋友們有幸遇到她也都超級愛她的。她的個性放鬆，跟我們遇過其他的緊張貓不太一樣，我也戲稱她是巷口老大姐。最近因為春天來到，她居然帶了兩隻死小兔來我們家，感謝安卓老大幫我們包起來丟進堆肥桶。我快怕死了。而且他會跟著我們散步～～我完全無法想像貓會跟著人散步~~~~ 

對貓過敏

也因為Billi，我特別上網看了一些資料，研究對貓過敏跟貓行為分析的影片，原來，人類對貓過敏，是因為他們唾液中的一種蛋白質，而不是貓毛唷~~而且也看貓種，一旦對某些貓過敏，不一定會對全體貓過敏唷~常常梳毛、清貓砂都能減低過敏反應，適時開空氣清淨機或吃點過敏藥，也是有用的唷~

真相大白

過了一個月，五月底我決定再貼一次文，如果沒找到主人，我們就可以帶她去掃晶片，如果沒晶片我們就可以領養她了。同時，陸陸也用撿到的項圈，偷偷圍上biili的脖子，當天晚上，項圈就不見了~圖文一貼出去，很多人都說可以直接領養了，因為只有貓皇選擇貓奴，我們人類是沒有選擇貓皇的機會~上禮拜，我收到C的訊息，她說那是她的貓兒子Oliver，她已經給他一個美好的家，可是Oliver就是喜歡在外面晃，我看到時覺得很疑惑，雖然80%以上的橘貓都是男生，可是我們三個朋友都判定Billi是女生，可是當C說到項圈名字等，我發現，我們撿到的項圈的確是Oliver的，而我們因為不知道billi是誰所以我才把Oliver的名字拿下來，再把項圈戴上去。所以我自己覺得C的說詞跟我們的billi應該符合。兩天後經過訊息確認，Billi/Oliver 回到C家，可是就再也沒來了。也因為碰到下雨兩天，我們以為只是因為雨天不能出門，這兩天放晴後，billi還是沒來打卡。我好奇心使然私訊 C 問問 Oliver好不好，她說他們搬家了，所以Oliver剛好在搬家前回到家~我頓時傷心失望~沒想到，上次billi/Oliver出去，就是最後一次見到他了... 原來 C家就在我們家隔幾間，真的好近啊~

結語

我花了一小時思考了一下整個狀況，也有點後悔我幹嘛無聊貼文，不過現在知道Oliver回到家，也跟著主人搬家了，也是不錯啦~可是我們的娛樂就沒有了，Oliver是我們遇過最親切的貓，他真是一隻超棒的入門貓~而且超級愛講喵話的，在遇到他之前，我跟陸陸身為狗派，可是他真的改變了我們對貓的觀感，也可以些許感受到為什麼這麼多人愛貓了。我們也知道可能以後也比較難碰到這麼可愛的貓，希望他搬到新家能健康，繼續帶給大家歡樂。

身為新移民的我們，還不太能對於長期承諾養寵物，再加上我們每年還要回娘家，會以寄養來做最近的考量~我們也想照顧這些沒家的可愛動物們。謝謝大家陪我們跟Oliver度過這兩個月開心時光。如果你有什麼建議或想法，留言私訊給我唷~~~ (十月後記，結果我們還是領養了班尼狗，近期會出新文章~歡迎追蹤)

I'm sharing a cat story of bitter-sweet emotions.

Origin

If you have been following my IG @chaiwithping, you probably have seen stories and post about a collarless cat from our neighborhood. She usually comes to check in with me and Louis. We love her so much. With the help of friends, this cat is identified as a gil so we call her Billi (female cat in Hindi). During these two months, we always wonder why Billi knows to open cabinets and drawers. 

The "Cat" Routines

Usually, around 8 am, I would go to the kitchen and boil some water for my tea. She could be sleeping on the rack which I put a towel for her or she would be right at the door and meow on the patio. I let her into the kitchen and have her breakfast then she would walk around the house like an inspector, jump to the sink countertop to tap herself in the mirror and drink the water from a jar. Later, she would pick to sleep on the sofa in my office or in the living room. Oh and she takes walks with us!!!

The Truth be Told

Last week, I received the message from C, she said that Billi was actually her cat son Oliver. Oliver likes to hang outside of the home while she gives him a very cozy home already. I was very confused about the gender, even more than 80% of the orange tabby cats are male but three of our friends identified Billi as a girl. But then C told me about the name on the collar, it was matching to what I found. We verified it and Billi/Oliver left us and went home after dinner on that day.  He didn't come anymore. It had been two days of rain so I thought maybe C locked him inside. But even after the weather was nice, we still didn't see Oliver. I texted C out of curiosity to see if Oliver is ok. She said that they moved and Oliver made it in time to come home. I was suddenly so sad. I didn't expect that regular departure was our last meeting. It turned out that C and Oliver just lived down the street which was super close by.

The End

It took me an hour to sit on this. I regretted bit why I posted but knowing that Oliver is home and moved with them in time was nice. Now, we don't have our litter entertainment anymore. Oliver is such a great entry-level cat who's kind, friendly, and talks a lot. Before meeting him, Louis and I loved dogs more but he changed our perception toward cats. I kinda understand why many like cats now. It might be hard to meet a cute cat like him but I hope he will still be healthy and fun to his new neighbors.