This is Tarzan. My first born. My first love. He’s 4 years old and about as mean as they come. Thankfully not to me (well, sometimes) but to pretty much everyone else. I adopted him in 2014. One of my best friends had just passed away in a car accident and my 21st birthday was quickly approaching so it just seemed like the right time to bring some joy into my life. I went to the shelter and looked at all sorts of kittens, and naturally I wanted to take all of them home. I was looking at one when I turned around and the smallest kitten I’ve seen had climbed up the chain link enclosure to about eye level with me and meowed. Sold. That’s also how he got his name, Tarzan. He was just over 1 lb when I adopted him, has one bent ear (his devil horn), and a chunk missing from his other.
He very quickly became the center of my world. Seriously, I’m a freak about my cats. He would cuddle up with me every night, suckle the blanket by my face, let me pet him, and kiss his face. However, I quickly learned that he’ll let you know real quick if he’s not liking something. But he’s still my perfect angel.
Tarzan took a nasty 15-foot tumble as a kitten. He got a little kitty bloody nose and panic ensued and I rushed him to the emergency vet in the middle of the night (it was quite the ordeal, trust me), but he was fine. He just won’t jump now. Yes, you read that correctly. I have a cat that won’t jump.
I like to describe Tarzan as my more methodical, logical, and calculated son. For instance, since he won’t jump over the baby gate at my parents’ house, but don’t you worry that won’t stop him. Over time he examined it, watched us put it up, and eventually learned he could use his paw to pull the side of the gate open…even after we started putting weights on both sides of it. His sweet grandma (yes, my mother) taught him to drink from a water bottle on the side of the bathtub so now he’s completely addicted. He’ll turn on the charm until you give him his water. Which you will because he demands it. And he’s adorable. And then all bets are off.
I hope you enjoy getting to know Tarzan!
Haley Meets World 