Pet Sitter in Albany, New York

I absolutely adore cats! Since the first time I got the chance to actually live with one I fell in love and really realized my natural affinity for cats that I didn't know I had. Growing up I would beg my mother to adopt a cat or dog, but she hated all pets and said they were dirty and she would never. I never hated any pets and enjoyed being around all types of pets like rabbits, turtles, hamsters/gerbils, fish, cats and dogs. One day without prior knowledge my friend/roommate at the time decided to adopt a cat (about 1 yrs. old) from a neighbor who was allergic to cats, but found him (the cat) in the street/homeless, he was a runaway, but was very clean and neat looking, you could tell this cat came from a loving family/well taken care of and was not out on the streets a long time. He did not take to us very well at first because once again he was surrounded by people he didn't know (the guy who gave him to us only had him a short time) and hid from us many times. I understood completely and gave him his space, allowing him to get acquainted with his new surroundings (find his favorite spots to hide and sleep) and with the new faces (myself and roommate). I let him come to me instead of forcing him to accept my presence. If he passed me or I passed him I would smile and say hi/hello, but that's it, I didn't want to overwhelm him by bothering him too much and wanted him to get comfortable in his new environment and being around me, I knew this would take time. It took about 3-4 weeks, but one day he actually paid me a visit! He stood right outside my bedroom door (the door was closed) and 'meowed', I was not surprised because I know/read animals/pets well so knew it would happen eventually. I happily welcomed him in and he looked out the window first and then he jumped in bed with me and attempted to snuggle with me and we actually fell asleep together! (The previous owner did mention how affectionate and friendly he could be , but I figured it would take him time to open up to us). From that day forward when he was not eating or sleeping upstairs or I was not upstairs with him he would always visit my room and I would shower him with lots of kisses/hugs and tell him how much he was loved. During the few months I got to know Grayson (his name) I found out alot about him, and noticed we had alot in common! He was a very curious cat and if he could talk he would have many questions, I am also a very curious person. I also don' t open up easily so understood his stand-offish behavior well, he generally liked to be left alone but was also very affectionate, he loved to be pet or snuggled or groomed! I also can be affectionate, but in general am not openly affectionate and really enjoy my own company. He was very fascinated with running water (although he hated baths, but on the other hand would always peek behind the shower curtain as I showered and look as if he wanted to get in staring at the water and then once he saw me looking at him he would run away lol!) and everytime I washed dishes he would hop on the counter and sit and watch me, staring very close at the running water as if he wondered where it was coming from lol! Sometimes touching the water and looking around the faucet once I turned the water off. He also took interest with the natural behavior of birds and would watch them intently when they were perched on the fire escape railing chirping outside of my window, but would always hide out of view beneath the window if he thought they were too close and saw him watching them lol! (One day my roommate caught him trying to bark like a dog!!!, so he was very interested in other animals).He had an interesting personality and I grew to love him dearly and he loved me back, we grew very attached to each other and he followed me everywhere I went, including the bathroom! He would wait for me to return home and would either greet me at the door or would be running down the stairs to greet me. His favorite cat food was beef flavored Fancy Feast, he didn't care for dry food as much but we left it out all day along with his water so it was always available, and I would make sure that he didn't overindulge in wet food so that he didn't become overweight (we never left this out all day). He enjoyed ripping up dish sponges (we had to keep them in containers) and hiding underneath the kitchen sink in the cabinet and sneaking out of the bathroom window (he ripped a hole in the screen and then forced his way through one day- I had no idea until the last minute) to hangout on the fire escape,almost giving me a heart attack! That is no place for a cat! And one of his most hilarious antics was sneaking out of the house to flirt with a cat from the neighborhood or staring at her from the window lol! But, with this being the only exception, he was very much afraid of the outside world and he didn't go far from the front porch. It was very heartbreaking when I had to leave him (I was not his official owner and the place I was going would not allow me to bring him with me if I wanted to) I had to move to a new apartment and no pets were allowed. I gave him as many hugs and kisses I could before I left and knew I would never see him again because my roommate and I were no longer friends so I could not come and visit him. He was very sad and actually cried when I left and I tried hard to fight back tears too, he was like my only child. Being an introvert myself I can see why I got along with him so well, cats are just as introverted I learned and their behavioral responses are similar. Cats are just so perfect to me and have hilarious personalities and are so adorable! It is a shame I cannot adopt one right now. I will always love cats and hopefully one day I can do much more for them like open up a sanctuary for abused and neglected cats or runaways. It's been a little over a year since I've been around a cat and would really love to rekindle a relationship with a cat or cats, although I don't have years experience with cats or other pets, I believe that I can be an excellent caregiver, I am very analytical so it will not take me very long to figure him or her out and what they like and don't, I understand/read cats well and I've noticed it doesn't take long or much work for me to get along with pets in general. I am an animal lover, caring and very affectionate. I believe animals are naturally drawn to me because they can sense the love so they are attracted to me almost automatically, even the shyest ones will eventually open up to me. And most importantly I treat them with respect, not as property or a toy, I treat them like I would my own human child because they really are no different from us and we as mammals are really no different from them. The only thing separating us from pets is their inability to speak. I am very sorry for the long story, but wanted to share it with you, thank you for reading all of it, if you did.