How Nero Became Misha the Muffin

In January of 2007 I was starting my second semester as a doctoral student at UT.  I had struggled with the first semester and friends and family had encouraged me to adopt a cat (something I had long wanted to do) as bit of self-care.  I needed something to love and take care of that would also help me have some focus outside of school. 

I looked the TLAC website and finally decided that I wanted to adopt a slightly older cat.  Being a grad student, I didn’t have a lot of time for training, so I wanted a roommate that was a little seasoned.  I checked the website over and over and decided that other than “not a kitten” I didn’t have any thoughts about the kind of cat I wanted.  I figured the best thing to do would be to see who’d been at the shelter the longest.  At that time, there were only 2 “long stay” residents and they had each been there almost a month, but one cat kept jumping out at me.  His name was “Nero” and he was about 3 years old.  He was a Russian Blue with that gorgeous blue/gray coat and big yellow eyes, but what I loved most was how regally he sat for his photo!  He was ready for his close up. 

 

My friends Taylor, Krystin and I went to TLAC to meet Nero-soon-to-be-Misha.  He was in a huge cage with 1 other cat – an orange tabby teenager that clearly wanted to play and Mish was having none of it!  He was chilling on a shelf near the top of the cage and looking disdainfully down at his roommate.   Taylor lifted Mish off the shelf and Mish immediately began pushing away.  My first thought was, “Oh, he’s not very friendly.”  Then Mish climbed out of Taylor’s hands, directly into my arms and looked at me expectantly as if to say, “What took you so long and when are we going home?”  

I spent that night spending way too much money at Petco and I had to leave work early the next day because I couldn’t wait any longer to go pick up my new furry friend.  I decided that a regal Russian Blue deserved a good Russian name and Misha is Russian for “Mike.”  It’s the shortened version of Mikhail and it’s what Baryshnikov goes by, so he’s in good company!  It took Mish about 15 minutes to decide he was comfortable at my apartment (with his roughly 700 toys) and on day 2, when I came home from school I found him sleeping in the center of the pillows on my bed.  He’d found his place and his cuddly nature and soft, soft fur quickly earned him the nickname “Misha the Muffin.”

Mish is the best!  He’s super friendly, loves people and other animals and so enjoys belly rubs that someone once told me, “This cat should be in a petting zoo!” When I picked him up I asked the TLAC staff where they found him and the answer was an apartment parking lot.  Based on his personality and trusting nature I just know he was someone’s pet and my heart breaks a little for the person who lost him.  But he was at TLAC for almost a month without being claimed and that has been my gain.  

Mish is 7 now.  He’s still regal and quite feisty and he’s sure that anyone who comes to our home is there to see him and mostly to pet him – please don’t forget the belly!   We survived 5 years in PhD coursework and we’re currently in Pennsylvania for a 1-year internship which will complete the program.  In just a few months, they’ll have to call us doctor and I’m convinced Mish deserves a shout out in my dissertation dedication because he definitely helped me stay sane during this process! 

“Shouldn’t you be writing your dissertation? Get back to work.”

 

I’m so grateful to the staff at TLAC for taking such good care of my furry child before I found him. He sleeps on my head, wakes me up way too early to eat breakfast by pawing my lips and my eyes, plops on my very expensive laptop keyboard to get attention, and gently swats or bites my ankles when he feels ignored.  Getting him is the best decision I ever made.