Many of us recall a special stuffed animal or comfort blanket we carried about as kids, whether we like to acknowledge it or not. Although a little battered and faded, these sentimental items were crucial in helping us through the difficulties of growing up.
The only source of solace for Belle the cat is a little cushion.
In May 2017, a woman named Katie Gaber adopted Belle, who left her litter to join her new family in North Dakota. From the moment Gaber met the 8-week-old kitten, she noticed something oddly endearing about her adoptive pet — Belle was unusually clingy.
“We knew she was the cat for us when she clung to us, not wanting us to let her go,” Gaber told The Dodo.
As Belle got more at home, it became apparent that her new cat brother, 3-year-old Jazzy, would put up with her but wasn’t too interested in cuddling the spirited kitten. Although Belle’s family showed her a lot of love and affection, something was still lacking.
That is, until the little kitten’s first trip to the vet.
Belle didn’t seem particularly excited to visit the doctor’s office, especially to get spayed. But while the experience may have been a difficult one, Belle received something precious that day — and it turned out to be the perfect thing to make her feel better.
“The vet decided to give her a tiny cushion to keep her company when we dropped her there, and she fell in love with it,” Gaber added. The vet gave us the cushion after we picked her up and said that she really enjoyed it and felt we should keep it for her.
The red and white hand-me-down pillow didn’t appear to be all that special — it was just a soap bar-sized piece of terry cloth — but since returning from that first vet visit, it’s rare to see Belle without it.
“Since then, she has carried the pillow wherever she goes,” Gaber noted. “We will find it all over the house in random spots.”
The pillow serves as a toy, a companion and, sometimes, even just a pillow. “She mostly carries it around in her mouth to wherever she’s headed, or she will put it between her paws and kick at it and bite it,” Gaber said. “There have even been times where she has laid her head on it and fallen asleep.”
Belle’s family is not entirely sure why she is so attached to the plush piece of cloth as, according to Gaber, it doesn’t even have catnip in it.
They think Belle like the cushion mostly because it is soft and comforting, maybe serving as a memory of her history. I believe the velvety feel is why she enjoys it so much, said Gaber. My mother likes to assume that the fact that it somehow reminds her of her mother is the reason she takes solace in it.
Whatever the motivation, Belle continues to hold on to the cushion even as she becomes bigger and the pillow gets smaller and smaller in contrast.
