If you follow my posts, you know that I live in any community. Not just a community, a federation of communities. Damanhur is the largest spiritual ecocommunity in Europe and one of the largest in the world. We are located in northern Italy, and different than most communities where you have one big territory everyone lives around, we are spread out across multiple territories, some as far as 20 minutes away. Most are not connected land-wise, hence why we are a Federation. What glues us all together is our constiutition, our governance, and our spirituality.
Some people--like myself--live in our shared houses. We call them nucleos, and there are usually between 8 to 25 people living in them. In my house, we have 25 with children. In addition, my nucleo is dedicated to hospitality, so we often have guests! This many people plus a large house and territory to maintain means lots of traffic, and it can mean that keeping a pet is difficult. Having a pet means not just having an animal that you get along with, but one that must get along with all the people and other critters of the territory. For example, in my house, to bring a new pet in, it has to get along with 22 adults, three children, two pigs, a bunch of rabbits and chickens, many many plants, three cats, and a yappy dog. Not an easy fit.
A Cat Person Without A Cat
In my case, the problem was extra because I travel all the time. I have always loved cats (hence the name Tigrilla, which is a small South American feline). Before leaving for Europe, we had three in my house. Being a somewhat digital nomad, I didn't think it was possible to keep a cat in my nucleo.
One day, I returned back from a business trip in France to find a small, scrawny, ematiated cat sitting in the middle of our parking lot. He was dirty and it was obvious he had gone a long time with limited food. I walked into my house and asked if anyone had seen this poor creature. One of the people declared, "Oh thank heavens you saw him, he is yours!"
What?!
So apparently this poor little soul showed up one day while I was gone. The cat lovers in our house--there a few of them--took pity on him and started feeding him. Of course, being the clever kitty that he is, he knew that if he hung around they would keep feeding him. Since at that time there was already a yappy dog in the house and a cat that has to remain on the 3rd floor since there is a person on the second floor that is allergic, he couldn't come inside. The only cat lover outside--I live in a cabin right outside the main house--was me, so they took a vote and decided he was mine.
On the one hand I was exstatic, on the other worried. I tried to protest...
"I don't have a car, how will I take him to the vet?!"
You can borrow one of our cars and we will lend you a carrier.
"I travel all the time, he will starve!"
We will feed him while you are gone.
"but... but... but..."
You have always wanted a cat, now you have one. Go give him some love, he needs it.
A Nucleo Cat (who only sleeps with me)
So that is exactly what I did. But he needed a name! Since the nucleo had conspired to bring us together, I wanted them to help me name him. We had a long discussion on our Whatsapp group throwing out names. In the end, in true Damanhurian cooperative fashion, he was named by putting together the ideas of multiple people:
- MYSTIC - Because he is a mystical being that managed to survive a full year on his own and find his way out of the blue to our house.
- AT - Which means scarlet in Sacred Language - Because he is white with orangy/red markings
For over two years now, Mysticat has been a part of our family. His food is in my room, but he is truly a nucleo cat. He is an avid mouser--perfect when you live in the mountains--he probably eats a mouse a day, playing with them and then devouring them without leavning even a drop behind. Needless to say, any kind of cat toy is useless, since he plays with live things all day.
A cuddler is not a strong enough word to describe his love for scratches and pets. He actively searches for people, luring them into my room by meowing as if he needs food, then jumping on the bed waiting to be snuggled. Many people fall for this trap on a regular basis, including nucleo members and guests alike. He has perfected the art of being adorable!
An Unexpected Bond
If you remember, I said I travel all the time. At the beginning of this year, I went back to university to get a masters degree. This took me away from the nucleo, and instead to Florence, where I have mainly stayed since fininshing, in addition to frequent traveling. This means that Mysti is mainly being looked after by the nucleo. He even has his own Whatsapp group--where I am not included--where the people that look after him can send pictures and coordinate feeding.
While he has always been a big snuggler, he usually sleeps outside in the elements. He comes into my room for cuddles and food, occassionally sleeping with me in the early morning hours. But since I have been gone, as soon as I arrive to the house, he comes out of the woodwork and pulls me straight onto my bed. There he expects me to lie for hours scratching and hugging him. The price I have to pay for being away soo much!
Yesterday I came home after being away for a while, and since I was in the main part of the house spending time with the family, he started meowing for me to come outside. After walking into the kitchen a few times to get my attention, I finally followed him to my room, where as soon as I laid down on the bed, he was on me with that fantastic purring power of his. I won't go into detail of what came next, though it rivals any images on I can haz cheezburger or CuteOverload and involved lots of drooling--on his part. He kept me there for TWO HOURS, eventually passing out from cuddle exhaustion.
This morning was a struggle to get out of bed, since he did not want me to leave. Then again, now that we are up, I am in here working and he is no where to be found. He has his routine visits during the day, which involve saying "good morning" to the older lady cat that lives upstairs in the house, then heading down the outside corridor of one wing of the house, and up to the rabbit/chicken coop to greet the other critters. What he does the rest of the day is a mystery to us all. He has been spotted a few kilometers away at times, but he mainly stays on our two hectars and the neighboring two hectars where two of our nucleo members have a wild and medicinal herbs nursery, only there he has to stay away from the house since there is a cat that has clearly marked his territory!
I am sad that we only really get one day together. I arrived yesterday and leave tomorrow morning. While he drives me a bit bonkers with how close he sleeps with me while I am here, to be honest, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I adore snuggly cats, and Mysti is just the right mix of independence and need for me. You could say he reminds me of myself, as I am quite independent, while at the same time really loving my snuggle time. Maybe that is why we make such a good match?!
This is a wonderful story! Thanks for introducing us to Mysticat and his cuddle-mongering ways! It was a charming, delightful read! 😊
My pleasure! I love sharing Mysticat with the world, both physically and virtually!!
lol, I'm getting all misty-eyed, with you and the Mysti cat. I'll have to introduce you to my friends who are cat people. If they haven't seen it they would love the story...
@hippie-witha-gun
@rudyardcatling
@catcurator
Aw... thank you so much! He has that effect on people, especially me! :)
lol, you two must have been meant for each other.
Hi yvesoler,
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Thank you so much. I am humbled!
Cute cat! Very interesting community. I will have to learn more about this.
Thanks to @anouk.nox, this post was resteemed and highlighted in today's edition of The Daily Sneak.
Thank you for your efforts to create quality content!
Oh wow, thank you so much! I will definitely go check it out. I love discovering new content!!
@yvesoler What a beautiful friendship you have created. This is how fate unites us with a purpose. Giving us love is rewarding for them and for us. It is good that you come home and have someone to welcome you with so much love after having worked and studied far away. I loved how crafty Mysticat is to achieve his goal of being consistent with everyone. Your story with your beautiful Mysticat is beautiful. It's been a pleasure reading to you. A big greeting and a lot of love for both of you.
Thank you, @yeninsfer. He is definitely crafty, and that makes me love him even more!
If you don't mind me asking: what is your origin? Your name reminds me of the Cuban "Y" generation. I am Cuban myself, but slightly older, but since my birth name also begins with a "y", I sometimes get confused for being a part of that age demographic. Mis abuelos vivieron toda mi vida en Venezuela, y aunque fui a visitarlos pocas veces, siento una conexión a esa tierra. Un abrazo!
Friend currently living in venezuela. But I was born in Cuba and lived to be 26. I'm so glad to know you're Cuban. A big hug for you. Glad to hear from you. I'm so excited about this. A beautiful day for you.
Blessings and hugs!
Amen. My best wishes to you. Blessings, dear friend.
haha! look at that cat! what a lovable little guy and you are so sweet to take him in. Is the schooling still the reason for your traveling or does your job require it? And who takes care of Mysti during your traveling time?
Wonderful post with great photos!
I travel mainly for work. I am a keynote speaker on plant neurobiology, Biomimicry facilitator, and the Communications Manager for a non-profit specialized in nature-based systems out of Austria. This means I live with a suitcase in my hand.
Lucky for me and Mysticat, there is a small group of people at home that take care of him. Many times, the guests in the cabin area where my room is are happy to help, since they are travelers that miss being with their own pets. They offer him lots of love and can easily go in my room to feed him. One time, I came home after a trip to find he had doubled in size! Two guests were so in love with him, they both fed him. Being the sneaky boy that he is, he would eat it one bowl, then call the other person to my room to make them think he had not been fed! This is why we now have the Whatsapp group for him. ;)
haha! howdy this fine Wednesday yvesoler.,..oh my gosh that little guy is very clever! ha! that is such a cute story, thank you.
And your work is very impressive, in laymans terms or redneck terms, you are a plant specialist. that is very cool.
Thank you! Yea, I am a plant intelligence specialist. Saying plant specialist makes people ask me about the types of plants they have at home. And normally, I have no idea! hehehe
I love the story, and I love the cat it's adorable! The name you've chosen is so nice too.. I have created names for my three children like that too, take a part of this name/meaning and put it together with that part of a name lol.. I love these kind of name creations!
A while ago I saw a documentary about Damanhur, I had never heard about it before actually. I wanted to read more about it, because it grabbed my interest and then I forgot. So it's nice that I came across your post today.. I will try to follow on your posts :)
I am a big advocate of personalized names. Both in Italy and in Spain--where I lived before moving here--they look at me like I am crazy when I talk about children that have names created by the parents. Then again, at Damanhur we have first names that are animal and nature spirits and second names that are plants and fungi, so who are we to talk! While in general these countries do not really believe in made-up names, things are starting to change. I hear more and more people with names that really represent them, not just some arbitrary name passed down across the ages. If you don't mind, what are the names of your children?
If you have any questions about Damanhur at all, please ask! I would be happy to share all I can with you. It truly is an unusual place. It kind of feels like living at Hogwarts!
Hooo your cat looks so cute he looks totally relax and trustful!!!
He is so funny about trust. If he is outside and you try to pet him, even to me, he will run away. But if you wait a minute and let him come to you, then he will throw himself on the ground and let you pet him anyway you want. So he only trusts you if he comes to you. hehehe
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Mysti looks so cute and adorable in the second photo and that of him snuggling, actually, he looks adorable in all the photos.
I had a cat when I was a kid, but I lost it later on. It was quite sad. You have built a strong connection with Mysti that your distance from him doesn't make him love your cuddles less. That's just beautiful
Hopefully, someday you will get to spend more time with him.
You are right, @audreybits, the distance doesn't change our love for one another. This took time to build and it was slow, but I am so happy it happened!
My condolences for your loss. Even if it happened years ago, it leaves its mark. A bond is a bond.
Thank you so much, it definitely does leave a mark.
Now, that's something you wouldn't wanna trade for anything...
Aho!
We have six cats. All are affectionate and love to be petted. But none of them likes being picked up or will sleep real close to us. They are all orphans that we rescued.
Six cats... quite the family!
Mysti doesn't like being picked up either. I can usually do it for about 20 seconds, and then he scrambles to get out. Even the sleeping is kind of funny, because he only does it the first night I am home. After that, he sometimes comes in around 5am, but more often than not, he prefers to be outside.
And two big dogs. Almost had a third, a husky. Andrea can't so no to orphans. Is your profile pic an Ocelot kitten?
Close, but no. It is a Tigrilla, which is my name. In Damanhur, we have animal or nature spirit names as our first names and plants or fungi as our second names. Tigrillo/a is a South American feline. It is related to the ocelot, but much smaller. You have Ocelot as the biggest of our group of cousins, then the Margay, then me. I am pretty small, about 44cm with a 40cm tail, and I live mainly up in trees. I wrote a post about my name, you can find it here.
That's how we ended up with a cat as well. One day a tiny little kitten was outside the front door so what could we do only look after it. Have it for 18 months now and it's such a delight around the place. It's more like
a puppy the way that it follows us around the house and looks for attention
I think that when they come from that type of background, they are more appreciative of the humans that now take care of them. That is why they follow us around looking for attention. At least that is my theory.
I'm sure that they are very confused and scared so when they find someone to mind them they attach a lot more. Your probably right in your theory.
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AWWWW I'm melting! Mysticat luffs you!! <3 What a sweetie.
And I <3 <3 <3 him!
@healthypets Cute Pet I like your photos! 😻 😻
Thank you so much!