This is Natasha!
She is my first cat. I got her from a local rescue, Juliet's House, on July 9, 2017 when she was about 3 years old. It was literally the day after we moved to our condo, and her arrival was much anticipated!
I originally planned to adopt Natasha over a year prior. Unfortunately, my partner lost his job and I had to tell the rescue that I wouldn't be able to take her until we were back on our feet. It broke my heart, but we were moving back in with my parents and my dad is allergic to cats. We lived with them for over a year before we were able to get a place of our own.
When things finally got better, Natasha was still with the rescue. She had done a short stint in another home, but they had returned her to the rescue after discovering that they couldn't handle her IBS. They were told that she would vomit and have diarrhea if not fed a strict diet (and sometimes even when you do everything right), but I guess they just didn't realize exactly how difficult it would be to manage. Either way I was grateful, because it meant I finally got to bring her home! We put her on a raw diet and it made a huge difference with her IBS. She was on raw until Stella and Chewy's came out with their wet cartons in March of 2019, which is the only non-raw diet she's ever done well on. She'll always be small and prone to stomach issues, but her quality of life is much better now that we've worked out a strict diet with her vet.
Personality wise, Natasha is a diva. She likes her litterbox scooped three times a day and if you're late she'll poop directly in front of the box, no exceptions. Her favorite spot is a chair on the porch, closely followed by the armrest next to my usual seat on the couch. She also enjoys sleeping in the middle of Rubeus's giant dog bed, always ignoring the smaller cat beds I foolishly bought before I knew her better. Now I know that she likes to live in the lap of luxury, and plan accordingly lol.
Natasha loves people, and insists they greet her at the door before she'll let them walk unaccosted. She gets along well with the other animals in the house, but I always make sure to spend some quiet time with her one on one. She spends her time birdwatching on the porch, sleeping in various prime sun spots throughout our home, and chasing any bugs that happen to make it inside.
This girl will always hold a special place in my heart. It may have taken over a year from live at first sight to bringing her home, but the wait was absolutely worth it!