I did say this week’s post would be a bit different. Not in the way that I had originally anticipated, but I think I can make up for it.

One of my favorite professors always used to tell us that “95% of your job will be problem solving, the other 5% will be doing your actual job.” So… I’m going to play to smart game and lean on those wise words.

See, I wanted to introduce you all to the newest addition to Casa Hawryluk (pictured below):

Avalon Stuffed Crust Hawryluk- Avalon for short- was brought home from the NEKO Cat Cafe late last week. She’s a 3-year-old domestic shorthair. I met her at NEKO in August and put in an application to adopt her the next day. At the time of her adoption, only a handful of people knew about my plans. My goal was to record my friends’ and family’s reactions to her arrival. As one friend put it, I wanted to “hard launch” my cat.

Unfortunately, technology was not on my side. My phone is probably older than Avalon. When you work in radio, you want things to sound good. The video reactions that I was able to grab had abysmal audio quality, specifically on the reactors’ end. It didn’t take long for me to realize that a compilation of reactions to her arrival wasn’t in the cards.

Why were their reactions so important to me? Well, Avalon is the first pet I’ve ever owned. My mom is allergic to most things with fur. We kept a few pet store fish for a time when I was younger, but the novelty wore off quickly. I had to accept early on that pet ownership wasn’t going to happen until I was well on my own.

Somehow, over the past few years, I found myself in a handful of living situations where I helped care for a roommate’s pet. The first of those was during the summer between my last two years of college. A friend asked me to watch their 4-year-old Chihuahua while they tried to secure housing. No problem. I vowed to be the best temporary caretaker this dog had ever seen. We survived a week together before I was informed that I couldn’t keep the dog in my on-campus housing unit. It was a good week, though- going on walks and having some company in an otherwise lonely apartment made that endless summer go by a bit faster. I declared myself a “dog person,” and made it a goal to adopt at least two one I hit 30. Maybe a cat. I didn’t have much experience with cats at that point.

So you may be wondering- you, a formerly self-proclaimed “dog person,” adopting a cat? How’d that happen?

I moved in with some roommates who were, as I came to find out, the biggest “cat people” on the planet. I didn’t know the first thing about caring for them. My experience, until that point, had been avoiding the hissing ones with claws and attempting to get a particular aloof cat to stop chewing on plastic. Gibbs (pictured above) did neither of those things, so I had a fresh place to start. He was a senior cat who enjoyed a good brush and hated closed doors. His meows were raspy and distinct, and he didn’t show affection all that often. But he was a good cat. He lived until the ripe old estimated age of 11 or 12. By that point, another cat came into the house- quite literally, off the streets.

Those roommates were night owls- more so than I could’ve ever been back then- and they had their eyes on this black cat that kept showing up in our parking lot in the wee hours of the morning. There was a terrible urban legend going around about cats in our suburb, and they were determined to save this cat from its alleged fate. Within about a week, she became a member of the household. The vet estimated that Karen the Cat (pictured above) was about a year old when we found her. She was much more affectionate than Gibbs, and much more active. Shortly after adopting her, I destroyed my knee and had to rest for a while. I’d fall asleep on the couch, icing my knee, and she’d crawl right on my chest to comfort me. Karen singlehandedly changed me into a “cat person,” but these days, I’m open to all animals. It’s been a fun journey.

Fast forward to the present. I’m a cat parent. Avalon’s been in my house for a few days, and I’m pleased to announce my couch is still intact… somehow. We’re working on it.

As for those reactions? I’ll give you a brief summary:

  • My family in Issaquah knew that I had put in an application, but they didn’t know about the adoption. After requesting a video call, my aunt immediately knew something was up. She and my cousins were surprised- and excited!- to meet Avalon. She was instantly introduced to one of her cat cousins, Finn. Finn had no interest in meeting
  • My grandparents’ reactions can best be summed up by this quote: “well, we knew it was going to happen eventually.” My grandmother kept commenting on how big her ears are. Both agreed that she had beautiful eyes and fur.
  • I somehow got through to my mom while she was chaperoning a high school football game (they lost, for what it’s worth). Her reaction was the one I was most excited for. She screamed “Oh my gosh, I’m a grandparent!! Where’s my grandcat?” She started passing her phone around to the other chaperones. They were also excited about the new addition. “Gotta go, the football game is still happening!! Bye, grandcat!”
  • My brother, a college sophomore, was one of the few people who knew about the adoption. Somehow, he completely forgot about it. The look on his face was priceless. He immediately swung around his camera to show Avalon to his friends in the dining hall. I got a round of “awws” from a gaggle of college kids. It felt pretty great.

In the short time that I’ve had her so far, I’ve noticed a few of Avalon’s quirks start to come out as well. She is an expert in making biscuits on any available surface- be it my carpet, my couch, or my bare arm. She is incredibly affectionate, and has headbutted me in the face a number of times to demand attention. I’ve learned that she likes to drink water from her bowl if it’s in the sink… for some reason. She’s indifferent to running water.

To celebrate the arrival of my biscuit queen, I knew that the only appropriate way to celebrate was with actual biscuits. I happened to have a box of Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit mix in the pantry. I’m not posting the recipe, it’s on the back of the box. But they came out great:

Yes, she tried to take some swipes at these as I tried to munch on them. Don’t let her behavior fool you, though. I fed her some excellent Alaskan smoked salmon earlier in the day. Only the best for my cat.

I think I’ll get the hang of this whole “cat ownership” thing soon enough.