Louis-The Purrfect Work from Home Companion

When we walked in to Louth SPCA on a sun kissed afternoon last August, we saw a tiny, black fluff ball climbing the gate of the cattery and crying. I instantly fell in love with the blue eyes that peered up towards me and was delighted to be told that it was a six week old female. The litter of kittens and mum had been abandoned under a shed and subsequently rescued by Louth SPCA. We decided that we would call her Lucy and bought her all things pink; a pink collar, pink food bowls, a pink fluffy fish and a pink blanket. When we brought her home, she struggled to walk in a straight line but continued her love of climbing. It was only when we took Lucy for her first vaccinations that the vet informed us that Lucy was in fact a boy. It was like an unplanned gender reveal party. We quickly changed names from Lucy to Louis but decided that pink would still be his favourite colour given that there had been a significant investment in pink items up until that point.

Louis has thrived over the past nine months and proven to be the best work from home companion throughout the pandemic, although he does like to sleep on the job and eat your elevensies. It’s hard to imagine life without him, he rules the house. I now understand what people mean when they say, ‘you don’t own a cat, a cat owns you’. I unashamedly declare myself fully under the paw. How can you not succumb to those beautiful eyes, that infectious purr and those slinky headbutts? He brings constant entertainment, whether it’s licking the jam from your scone, suckling your jumper, mirroring a yoga pose in his sleep, walking nonchalantly across your keyboard or attacking your toes mid presentation, there’s never a dull moment when he’s around. He has retained his baby fluff and still sports a long, black, fuzzy coat. He spends hours every day preening it yet somehow still manages to look like he has just come in from a heavy night out. I personally think that he totally rocks that dishevelled artist vibe, although I am biased.