Oliver the cat!

So remember my fear of cats?



This is the cat we rescued from the orphanage a few months ago. He was this disgusting, little skeleton of a thing. My compassion for him outweighed my fear and over time, in getting to know him and realizing that he really can't maul my face, I have grown in my affection for him. I really love him. Sometimes I feed him, hold him like a baby. I know, it's crazy and I can hardly believe it. And now, even though I don't really like other cats, I can handle being around them or when they get close to me. I don't freak out or cry like I used to. It's really incredible.

Oliver is hilarious. And mostly retarded. (It must have been from the lack of nourishment he got for his first few weeks of life.) He is mostly blind and is really afraid of other cats. He can't climb stairs very well. But can do 360-degree flips in the air when playing with toilet paper. He chases imaginary friends and sometimes will dart back and forth in the house, running at ultra speed.

Since he lives in the volunteer house, he's become super domesticated and we know that he can't survive out in the wild like all the other cats. He can't defend himself at all. We've been trying to expose him more to the outside world but it's been a bit overwhelming.

So, amongst many other things, my experience here in Cambodia has been literally changed my life. However, 3 months cannot completely erase 11 years of a self-enabling fear. There's residual effects that creep out every so often. Don't expect me to adopt any cats when I come home either. It's definitely different now and it is a really good feeling. I've even become one of those people who try to have photo shoots with their pets!