The Cats of Comp Sci High
“My love for the cats both in my life and in general has encouraged me to go out and find other cat lovers and owners to share the stories of their amazing cats featured in this article.”
In my household, we live with five cats. Flash is a cat who may seem aggressive, but once he gets used to you, Flash is such a sweet and fun cat to be around. Overtime he has become more welcoming to others. This was our first cat. He was a foster cat, taken in by my mother ever since he was a kitten. He was named Flash because of his quick speed as a kitten. He’s a chubby orange and white tabby cat. Everytime I go into the kitchen, Flash will meow at me and I would meow back. It’s as if I were having small conversations with him.
Mitty is another one of our cats. Mitty’s story of becoming a part of our family is quite complex. My mother, a super of a building, had a tenant who was moving to another home that didn’t allow for her to keep cats. My brother and our mother picked up the cat from the apartment and saw the tuxedo cat.
My brother told me, “When it was time that we took him away, the owner of the cat started crying. I can understand how hard it must've been to give away such a beautiful cat like that.” He is an intelligent and quiet cat. Although he wasn’t always like this. When first moved into our apartment, Mitty was a very shy cat. He took time to get accustomed to living in a new environment.
Leo had a very similar story to Mitty. He is a Turkish van cat with a predominantly white coat with orange spots. Just like Mitty, Leo was given to us by a tenant. It was a family who couldn’t keep the cat because they were having a baby. Leo is such a welcoming cat and he really loves to be around others. Everytime I come home from school, he is seen sitting on my chair. Some days he’ll even sleep with me. The other two cats in my household don’t quite have names, for they were strays taken in. We still all love them very much and ensure they are taken care of, just as all the others are! My love for the cats both in my life and in general has encouraged me to go out and find other cat lovers and owners to share the stories of their amazing cats featured in this article.
Briana Chavez (12th Grade):
In November, when I came back home from my tutoring job, I remember when it was such a cold day. I had to wear my earmuffs and gloves to keep my ears and hands warm. When I was going up my apartment stairs, I heard a faint meow. As I continued to the last floor of the building (I live on the last floor with very tiring stairs), the meowing got louder. That's when I saw her. She was in a loaf position, trying to seek warmth. She gave me one look and meowed, and I knew I had to help her. I went inside my apartment and told my parents that there was a cat outside our door. They already knew since we have a ring camera. I described what the cat looked like and told them how she was shivering, wanting to seek warmth. After going back and forth with my mom, she told me to bring her inside the apartment only for a day, and they would kick her out the next day. I was devastated hearing what my mom had told me, but I just said, "OK." When I brought her inside the apartment, her nails were super long, and they poked me when I was carrying her. When I brought her into the living room, everyone was silent. My parents and sisters were just observing her, and so was my family dog. She ran into the kitchen and jumped on top of the kitchen cabinets, which held all my parents' wine. My dad was scared that she would make it fall. We tried giving her water, but she has yet to respond. The next day I had school, and I thought she would be at the same spot, but she wasn't. I had many thoughts overflowing in my head. "Did they kick her out?" "Where could've she gone?" That was until I saw her on my living room window, hiding behind the curtain. She poked her head out, just looking at me. I had to leave for school, and I just told my older sister to keep an eye on her. After school and my tutoring job, I came home, and my dad told me that he brought wet food for the cat to eat, but she also didn't respond to his efforts. That's when my parents told me that if she doesn't eat or drink anything by tomorrow, then she will leave. The next day passed, and I brought her another wet meal, but she still didn't eat or drink anything. That's when an idea popped up. "What if she likes dry food instead?" I ran to the deli in front of my apartment and bought dry food. I came home, and I gave her the food. Since she was on top of the cabinets, she had to come down to the counter. and when she did, she sniffed the food and finally ate. I was so relieved. I even recorded the entire thing, and I was so shocked. In my head, I was thinking, "Yay, we can keep her!" After my parents came home, we had a long discussion about the cat. We were thinking about what name to give her, how I needed to buy her a litter box, and other necessities like vaccinations. After that, my mom told me how Stormy was MY cat and how I was the one responsible for all the stuff she did or needed. I didn't mind, and I was just so happy to have a cat after many years of begging. I fully paid for her insurance, and when I took her to the vet, she had an ear infection, but thankfully I helped Stormy feel more relieved with her ears.
Stormy’s personality may shock a lot of people (especially those who dislike cats), but she is very calm. She is not aggressive whatsoever, and anyone can approach her without any issues! When I cut her nails, she doesn't make it difficult or try to bite me; she just complies. When I clean her ears, she also complies. Every time I come home, she meows happily at me or runs to me and then meows. Whenever I slept for too long, she would jump on top of me and meow. When I have my hand out for her, she rubs her head against it and tries to groom me by licking me. She is just such a fun, joyful cat. When I go to sleep, she jumps on my bed and sleeps with me, and she always has to touch me with her paws. She loves to look outside my bedroom window, looking at the six trains passing by, and she sleeps a lot. Calm, friendly, and somewhat sociable.
There’s so much that Stormy has done that I can’t forget. One of them is when I was just lying on my bed about to go to sleep, and then out of nowhere, she jumped on my bed and meowed so closely to my ear. I told my friends what happened, and they said that Stormy was telling me a secret. Another moment of Stormy was when it was a school day and my alarm hadn't rung yet, but 10 minutes before my alarm, Stormy just jumped on me, put her paw on my face, and when I woke up, she meowed. I honestly thought I was dreaming.
Sherry Mao (Staff):
Cheddar was born in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania about 12 years ago and moved to New York a few months after she was born. Cheddar's mom was my mother-in-law's cat. Her sisters still live with each other but they are definitely not as "healthy" aka chubby as Cheddar. I have to admit, we indulge her. She runs the house. Eats, poops, sleeps whenever she wants. We do nightly cuddles when we get home and on weekends, we do "Wet Food Weekend" - a little grooming, a little toe nail clipping, a little wet food.
(Editor’s note: check out her shenanigans at @cheddarchubbycat on Instagram!)
Brenda Gonzalez (Staff):
Gus (August) and Noche, who goes by Tater Tot were both adopted. Noche was a rescue who I fostered and fell in love with. Gus is the sweetest bear, very snuggly and super picky about who he opens up to. Notche is a tiny terror with the face of an angel. I take care for my cats extremely well. They eat better than I do. They also get daily playtime, and lots of comfy 'beds' (blankets and towels they claim and turn into a bed).
They both sing. They are very chirpy cats, hardly ever meow. Gus likes to propel himself off the walls when he does zoomies through the apartment. Noche got out and vanished for 12 days two summers ago, and then we found him and he was so excited to come home after his adventure. Will never forget those sleepless nights looking for him and how pleased he was to be home. He also eats his food out of his bowl with his paws like a weirdo.
Esme Orengo (10th Grade):
In September of 2022, I was waiting for my Uber after-school in 9th grade when I saw people around a kitten. It was an orange kitten by himself and I had called it over. I took it home with me by impulse. Pumpkin is now one in a half! Sushi is the other cat I took in. My good friend Anais and her boyfriend had given Sushi to me for free the day before Christmas Eve, Dec 23, 2023. He took a while to adapt to my house but loves bothering his older brother. Sushi is 4 months old.
Pumpkin is very much a loner by choice he isn't friendly to everyone but loves being in high spaces and napping. He didn't like Sushi at first. He was super afraid of him I guess but warmed up in the next few weeks. Sushi is always hyper. He loves cuddling and napping with his brother. He loves following his loved ones everywhere around the house. Sushi tends to find his way up high places it seems impossible to be at.
Joseph Medina (12th Grade):
Before Misty, my family had a black cat that we called "Shadow." One day when I was 3-4ish, Shadow had jumped out of the window from my house, trying to catch a bird that was flying by, and unfortunately passed. Hearing about Shadow's passing, one of my brothers had decided to leave us his cat because he was going to be going away and wouldn't be able to take care of her. Now Misty has been with us for 10-12 years.
My cat is very mischievous, she would meow for the tiniest of reasons such as not giving her candy if I have any, running around and tripping me and my family for no reason, forcing me to sleep with her on my lap. If I'm going to take a bath, she would meow until I open the door and let her sit on the carpet near the toilet. I always make sure that she is fed, has water, a comfortable place to sleep, as well as make sure to play with her (picking her up, swinging a shoe lace in front of her, and picking her up and putting her on my shoulders when I'm playing a game.)
Aaron Williams (11th Grade):
I was in 7th grade when I got Finn. My dad came home with a box and brought it into our living room and when me and my siblings opened it, there was a small black and white cat staring straight at us.
Finn is pretty chill and he loves to be rubbed on his stomach and behind his ears. He gets scared when he sees other people besides who he lives with and tries his best to stay away from them. He is also a little dumb as he chases things that aren't there. I try my best to care for my best friend. I give him all my attention when I get home from school and I let him rest on my lap or stomach almost all the time.
Jeremy Gualpa (12th Grade):
My story starts off with my aunt and uncle coming over to spend some time on a december night about 3 years ago. Their visit was sudden and random at the time which is why I found it strange that they had an animal cage without their dog, Rambo. The reason for their visit wasn't just to catch up after the pandemic but to bring us a small orange baby kitten that they found alongside the street. As it turns out they were walking home one night and found her in a box, which is where they picked her up and brought her home. Sadly they couldn't take care of her because at the time they already had 2 pets: Rambo (the dog) & a black cat (forgetting the name now), since they couldn't my father decided to bring her into our family, he also decided the name long before we even knew of her existence so the name Bella stuck. Now she's ~2-3 years old, much taller than when she was a kitten, a big whiner when she doesn't get what she wants, and just as curious about the world as she was when she was younger.
She is often quiet and distant except with those that often pet her, that being me, my aunt, and uncle. She would actively avoid people she doesn't know whenever they enter my home, once she ran to my parents room (on the other end of my home) and hid under the bed until I slowly drew her into meeting my aunt and uncle for the first time. Sometimes she gets really playful and starts running around the entire house, about 10-20 minutes, or we play with her with the pointer light. Surprising no one, she sleeps for hours everyday, most often on the corners of everyone's bed's and on her own whenever my parents tell her to.
I had asked these cat owners to share, if any, misconceptions about cats. Many said that cats are misunderstood as aggressive, don’t care about their owners, violent, or even hate water. Here are a few statements made to dispute these misconceptions about cats:
“Every cat has their own unique personality just like dogs.”
- Briana Chavez
“Cats are truly a woman's best friend if a dog is a man's best friend.”
- Sherry Mao
“Most people also think cats are aloof, but all my cats have been super affectionate in their own ways.”
- Brenda Gonzalez
“I often hear that cats are violent and "evil" but with my experience with my own cat, they are just misunderstood and only get violent when someone they don't know tries to go up to them.”
- Joseph Medina
Many of the cats from these owners reveal a variety of personalities. They have also shared many unforgettable memories within the presence of each other throughout their day to day lives. Not every cat may be the same, but that's what truly makes them unique.