I grew up in a cat family. My early childhood was spent playing with Toby, the cranky black cat. A few years after he passed, we welcomed Luigi the tabby and Percy Jackson the tuxedo cat into our lives. These kitties were the only pets I’ve ever known. My dad absolutely hated dogs, and I turned out to be allergic to them, so it was always cats.
When I moved to Madison in 2024, I obviously couldn’t take them with me. They were my parents’ cats, so of course, I had no say in where they would be staying. It was a strange adjustment to be living without animals, I’d been doing so for over ten years.
I began to realize how much having a furry friend around the house does for you. How much they boost your mood, how they never fail to make you laugh. Many late nights were spent looking at cat videos on TikTok and missing my buddies back home.
By January of this year, the seed had been planted. I wanted to get a cat of my own.
With my job being what it is, my schedule was slightly chaotic up until mid-March. It was then that I decided to look into the Madison College VetTech Program. Working with local animal shelters across Wisconsin, the program temporarily houses a variety of furry friends within the school. It offers treatments such as spaying and neutering, as well as vaccinations, before returning the animals to their shelters.
Since most are still up for adoption during their stay at Madison College, staff and students are able to put in an application, as well as get a head start on the process. After a short series of emails with Kelly Howard, the current Veterinary Technician Lab Manager, a meeting was set up.
And that’s when I saw him, a little tuxedo cat named Sourdough. He was patiently sitting in his cage on the top shelf of the room, staring at me. The moment he was let out, he came right up to me, rolling around and licking my hand.
Naturally, I decided to adopt him about 20 minutes later while eating at Applebee’s with my family. We discussed possible name ideas—my brother suggested Hotdog for some reason—before finally settling on Gatsby.
It took a few days to fill out all the paperwork, both with my landlord and the shelter. Due to the Spring Break, I couldn’t take him home for about two weeks. He had quite a lot to say when I stuffed him in the cat carrier. He also tried to escape the Uber, which was not fun, but I thankfully got him into my apartment in one piece.
Even though he can be a handful sometimes, he’s an amazing cat. He’s playful and curious, always finding new ways to get himself into trouble. He always makes me laugh and he makes every day an adventure.
If you’re considering getting a pet and you have the finances to do so, I say go for it. Pets keep the day interesting, help to better your mood and take just as good care of you as you give to them. Gatsby has done all that and more for me.