By: Janeen Messinger

I love all animals, but I especially love cats. My cat died a few years ago, and I’ve been very sad about it. I asked my caregiver if I could get a new cat. We went to the local shelter, and I fell in love with every cat there, including the shy ones.

I especially liked a little fur ball with blue eyes called Suki. Suki liked me right away. It was a problem for me to adopt him because you need money to adopt a cat. You pay for it and then you have to buy food, toys and have money for medicine and veterinarian costs.

I didn’t have enough money that day. When we got home, I used my iPad and piggy bank with savings to figure out how much money I would have to save. I still didn’t have enough, so my caregiver helped me figure out jobs I could do around the garden.

We agreed that I would help pick up prunings on the ground, put them in the fire pit, and put all the garden tools in one place at the end of the day. I also started doing chores inside the house, like sweeping the floor. My roommate isn’t able to make the bed, so I get paid to do that every day, sometimes twice a day if napping is going on! I made enough money to adopt my new kitty and only had to borrow a little bit, which I promised to pay back later.

Finally the day came when I went to pick up my new fur baby, my little boy, Suki. He was scared at first but I kept telling him it was okay and I would take good care of him.

It’s been a few months now, and we have become best friends. He loves me so much and wakes me every morning by purring in my ear. Sometimes he licks my hand, telling me it’s time for breakfast. I am not lonely anymore now that I have my Suki by my side.

Another thing is that I learned how to do lots of jobs. And I paid back the money I borrowed. I didn’t quit my jobs after the adoption. I kept them because I got good at them and it’s nice to have extra money to buy cat treats and a treat for myself too, haha!