His name is Yuki.
He’s half Persian and half Filipino—I mean short-haired.
I know not all people advocate for having cats like him.
But he’s here now. Do we abandon him?
Quickly, you sure would answer no.
For how dare we give up a life that’s already there?
Couldn’t we be kinder to existing mixed breed felines?
Couldn’t we consider having them home, knowing they’ve already been born as fellow earthlings, anyway?
Anyway…
I wonder what Yuki himself thinks.
He often plays a staring game with me.
And he, most of the time, wins.
I expect that from any cat.
But what’s actually running inside this cat’s mind?
Equipped with the curious world of those blue eyes…
What does he actually see?
Who does Yuki think I am?
Am I his master?
Or is he… mine?
He imitates me.
Which makes me think that sometimes, he’s actually like a child.
A human child.
A little kid who hears his parent say a word a certain way…
With a particular tone…
And then he makes it.
I mean the sound.
Yes he does make the sound of his voice ring like the way I use my voice.
Interesting, right?
He would meow as if asking a question…
The very same way that I would say, “Hello” as if inquiring, “Are you there?”
Yeah, yeah.
That tone playing inside your head right now.
Exactly that, or maybe just close to that, if you know only a little about me.
And Yuki cries.
Like literally he cries like a baby.
A begging one.
Whenever I get too busy staring at my screen and typing words…
Oh, he cries.
To be honest, I think it’s cute.
But what does he really think?
What does Yuki actually feel?
Whenever I take pictures of him, what does he think about me?
Whenever I meow back at him, does he even understand me?
Do his eyes perceive the world like I do?
Or do his ears hear more than what I could only faintly guess?
Does he know whenever I’m sad?
Does he feel it whenever I’m having melancholia?
Does he even know I’m talking about him right now?
He watches me sometimes.
Makes me wonder.
Does he know I’m vegan?
Does he care about other animal species like I do, too?