Christina Nguyen & Bentley
I had just graduated college and was feeling a bit lost navigating the real world. I thought taking care of a little kitty would give me some purpose and I knew I was ready to take on the responsibility since I was no longer in school. So, I started looking for cats on Craigslist and I found a post that said “free kittens”. Apparently, the owner’s cat escaped their home for some time and came back very pregnant.
The second most hyper kitten was Bentley, a playful tabby whose spotted coat I fell in love with. Even now he is just as playful as he was five years ago. He follows me around all morning meowing. He gets up on his two feet and tries to claw at me when he really wants something. He cuddles with me, and falls asleep in the sunlight with his belly out. He never seems to get bored because he always finds something to play with. He's also very trusting and comfortable around other people. He loves spending time with me, but is independent and sometimes likes his alone time. He's never too fussy. He even let's me pick him up, play with him and tug at him gently. Everyone says he has the personality of a dog. I think if I were a cat, I'd be exactly like him. [gallery ids="1951,1948" type="rectangular"]Bentley is helping me explore my nurturing side. I know having a cat is nowhere the same level as having a child, but taking care of a living being, even if it's just a cat, kind of gives me a little preview of what it might be like to a be a mom.
I suffer from anxiety and just observing a living being who just wants to sleep, play and explore all the time makes you look at life differently. He's either calm or playful and it makes me think if that's all he needs to be content, I should try to do the same. Having a cat with me at all times when I'm home, definitely makes living alone very pleasant. He's always sitting somewhere nearby, no matter where I am in the apartment, and that's a really comforting feeling. Just petting him, cuddling with him, and hearing him purr will automatically calm me down. Angelina Jolie once said that Maddox just made her sit down and draw on coloring books all day with crayons and that it changed her. I feel the same about just playing with my cat.
Christina Nguyen is a Graphic Designer and occasional photographer. She just left her job at an in-house design agency for a beauty company and is moving on to an in-house marketing/design agency for a real estate development company. She's obsessed with drinking matcha and listening to rap music.