When Heracles was just eight, he asked his mother for a cat. A fluffy one, with little pink paws and long whiskers that loved to sleep and loved to cuddle- like his neighbor's cat, but cuter. A kitty who didn't mind how much he slept and gladly join his lengthy naps, or how often he spent sitting and thinking, catch all the mice before they ate his mom's garden, and love him with all of its heart- and, in the ideal situation, he would return such love in kind.
Unfortunately, his mother had said no.
"We just don't have enough space or money for a cat right now, Heracles." she'd told him, "and besides, they scratch things and ruin the furniture."
"But mom-" he'd started, but his mother kept talking.
"And cats make big messes and bring dead things into the house, and they're so mean," she had continued, her reasons eventually devolving to 'I just don't like cats'.
That was a moment that stuck with him for his whole life; his mother going on and on about all the reasons they shouldn't get a cat. And now, at age twenty-five, living in his decently sized apartment, still taking his infamously long naps, he was going to get his kitty.
"Kiku, we should get a cat."
Kiku looked up from his drawing. He'd moved in… what, six months ago? Mostly because of how insufferable his relatives could be, and because of school and such. Heracles had been a good friend to him for a while; he'd figured that extending an invitation to have a sleepover for the next three years or so would be fine with both parties, and it was to an extent.
"Why do you say that?" asked Kiku, but the Greek man didn't respond to his question.
"It should be a fluffy cat, maybe a ragdoll? Those are very cute cats." Heracles mused as he sat on their couch, flipping through a book in his hands. The book, in big bold letters, was titled "Cats From Around the World". "Ragdolls are also very calm and gentle. I heard there was a breeder a few blocks down."
"Heracles, why do you want a cat?" asked Kiku again, only a little louder. Heracles didn't reply for a few moments, but then spoke up.
"It's always been a dream of mine. My mother never let me have cats, you know. She didn't like them so much. But I do. They're so lovely and aren't as messy or disturbing as a dog."
At this, Kiku glanced at his own dog, Pochi, whom he had brought with him when he had moved in with Heracles. Pochi was currently licking himself vigorously, emitting loud and rather disturbing slurping noises as he did so, before falling over onto the floor because the paw that was supporting him had slipped. Kiku cringed a little, watching as Pochi was demonstrating exactly why Heracles was right.
"Maybe next year. We don't have the space or money for a cat right now-" Kiku started, but was surprisingly interrupted.
"My mother said that too!" complained Heracles. "She always talked about how we never had enough money for a cat, or enough space. Even if we really don't have enough of either right now, I'm sure we could make some sacrifices."
Kiku sighed, perhaps in understanding, perhaps in agreement, before sitting down to join Hercules as he continued to flip through the large book.
"Are there any breeds that get along okay with dogs?" asked Kiku. "I don't want a cat that's going to fight with Pochi often.
"Any kitten will do if it's well socialized," responded Heracles. "We just need to introduce them in the right way."
"Perhaps we should do some more research online, then." said Kiku, though he did not get up to find his phone, nor to get his laptop. Heracles stayed silent, flipping through each page after reading and rereading each little detail, storing them away in his mind for later use.
"Good idea," Heracles agreed. As he continued to inspect the pages, Pochi walked over to him and plopped down right next to his feet, resting his head on them. Heracles paid him no mind, and after a moment Kiku got up and left to presumably continue their search for the perfect cat.
Heracles sighed. Pochi snorted. It was going to be a while, he thought, before his dreams of soft, fluffy kitties jumped out of his dreams into the real world.
"This is Mr. Cheesecake." The cat breeder told him, gesturing to a lovely cream-colored ragdoll cat who was currently being bombarded by several kittens, who she was not paying attention to.
"You named your female cat 'Mr. Cheesecake'?" questioned Heracles. It had been two weeks after he nad Kiku agreed to get a ragdoll cat from a local breeder, and the two of them had decided that, since Heracles had wanted a perfect kitty, he should go out to get one (or, if he just couldn't decide, simply observe) while Kiku went out to purchase kitty food, a litter box, and other necessities.
"Ah, well, my son did," smiled the blond man, "He didn't know that she was a female, and the name was cute enough so I stuck with it."
Heracles nodded, not fully paying attention to him. The pink-collared one batting at her tail seems like a good match; Pochi might tire her out with play which would make Kiku happy, but she might not want to take long naps with me if Pochi is bothering her all the time. The one with the green collar looks like he'd be a good kitty; all nap and no fight. He doesn't seem to like the company of others, though.
He continued to ponder over each kitten's display of personality. There were five in total; three females and two males. The green and orange collared kittens were the males, and so far they seemed to be good matches for Heracles specifically. The green collared one looked the calmest out of the litter, and the orange collared one seemed to be the least demanding of the kittens bothering the mother; he seemed more interested in sticking to her side than playing with her or trying to nurse.
The females, one with a black collar, one with pink, and one with blue, seemed to be better fit for Kiku's own needs; he'd wanted a cat that could at least tolerate, if not get along with, Pochi, and in a best case scenario at least attempt to play with the dog. Heracles agreed, somewhat. He really hoped that, if that were to happen, neither cat nor dog would mistake it for aggression.
The black collared kitten and the pink collared one mewed and pawed at their mother, while the blue-collared one seemed more content batting at her orange-collared brother, before walking off to join her other brother once her efforts to initiate play were ignored.
"They're all very cute," noted Heracles, and the cat breeder nodded vigorously.
"The father's a purebred showcat, and I've worked with the mother's side of the family for my entire career. I can assure you that they're all completely purebred." He said. Again, Heracles did not respond, opting to observe the kittens once more.
"They're 600 each, of course," the man said, and Heracles bent down to pet them. They seemed to have no issue with him, which was a good sign. The fur was all clean and soft, and they didn't seem to suffer from any sort of visible disease.
His eyes closed for a moment, and slowly he stood up, before announcing his choice to the breeder, who eagerly awaited his answer.
"I've made my decision."
Kiku, arms clad with large bags of cat food- "Get the kind for kittens," Heracles had advised him- attempted to grab his keys from out of his pocket, allowing one of the bags to rest on the knee he had raised up. Nearly dropping the two big bags, he managed to get ahold of the keys before beginning to put them into the poorly made lock of their apartment door. He managed to get the key about halfway in before it got stuck.
"Please," he said quietly to the door, "Don't do this again, please."
Amazingly enough, the door complied with his will, and the key slid in with some further trouble. Unlocking the door, he placed the two bags on the ground as soon as he'd gotten in- why he hadn't done that before he wasn't sure- and as always Pochi came bounding in. The pomeranian did a little dance, jumping onto his hind legs and placing his front legs onto Kiku's. The noirette smiled and patted his dog's head. Pochi responded with an enthusiastic bark and licked his owner's hands as he continued to pet and rub the dog's head and ears. Strangely enough, there seemed to be no sign of Heracles.
A quiet meowing sound sounded from around the wall separating the entrance and the kitchen area, and when Kiku looked up from his dog he spotted a cute looking, white yet creamy-colored kitten. This must be the kitten that Heracles got, he thought to himself. As Pochi jumped off him to inspect the food bags, Kiku bent down to get a better look at the newest addition. The kitten, who he noticed had a blue collar, continued to mew, before making its way to him and investigating the food bag's he'd brought in- Ah, I need to get the rest of the stuff I bought inside too, he remembered, but as soon as he got up to go and get it another meow- this one much louder and yet again coming from around the corner of the hallway- sounded.
Turning around the corner was yet another creamy white kitten, this one almost identical to the other, save for its black collar. Kiku stared at it. It stared right back, unblinking. Somewhere at his feet, Pochi panted happily, trying to grab Kiku's attention once more by pawing at him. The black-collared kitten eventually joined the other one in investigating the food bags, ignoring Kiku as it did so. Forgetting about the rest of his things, he quickly closed the door and speed walked to the living room. When he did not find Heracles there, he ran to the Greek man's room, where he found him laying on the floor, with three kittens resting directly on top of his chest.
"Heracles, what did you do?" asked Kiku, his voice growing more concerned and, if he wasn't mistaken, somewhat angry.
"I found the perfect cats, Kiku. They're ours now." Heracles responded, smiling goofily as one of the cats made its way to his face and licked his nose.
"This is too many cats, Heracles, I only bought one bed!" exclaimed Kiku, though he quickly lowered his voice mid-sentence to avoid alerting Pochi, so as to not accidentally have his dog bowl over the kittens in his excitement. The dog came running in anyways, tail wagging and tongue lolling. The other two kittens that had greeted him at the door tumbled in after him, the black-collared accidentally toppling the blue-collared one over. Pochi took one look at them, and tentatively sniffed at them, before attempting to lick at them. The black-collared kitten dodged just fine, but the blue-collared kitten didn't seem to mind that much as the larger dog's tongue and nose poked about his face.
"We can buy more… or have them sleep on my bed." Heracles said nonchalantly, not getting up from the floor. Kiku bit his lip.
"I'm… going to get some more cat supplies. I'll be back in an hour." Kiku sighed, resigned, leaving the room. Pochi tagged alongside him, and the remaining kittens cuddled up next to Heracles, whose smile never once left his face.
every time i try to write something without cats a mysterious force visits my home and tells me that it's disappointed
physically i can't not include cats in my writing