You’ll Love Her Different (Patreon)

“Tiger” is the name she came with but I’m hoping Tig (Notaro) or Tiggy might become a good fit.

Because of Flapjack, I have permanently conflated "being an asshole" with "having a personality" and so far Tig does not have a personality 😤 She hasn't hissed at us or tried to bite or claw us, so I think she may be defective??? We may have to return her to the Humane Society and ask for a non-broken cat.

But first, I’m going to stroke her sweet head and listen to her purr and delight every time she squeeks out her tiny, barely audible mew when she greets Matt or me after we’ve left the room for a while. She’s clambered up our shoulders without warning and draped herself across the top of the books lined up on the shelf. She rolls over to expose her soft, little tummy at us, even though she’s still recovering from a spaying that didn’t go great. But she trusts us to touch her there and lets herself nod off next to us.

“What if I never love her as much as I still love Flapjack?” I texted my friend while my heart was hurting.

“It's like any love. It's just different. Never the same.” She told me. “You won't love her like you did Flapjack. You'll love her different.”

(First draft tapped out on Instagram.)