Zagreus

I changed Elm’s name to Zagreus, which is the name of the protagonist of the video game Hades. Zagreus felt right at home immediately! I expected him to stay in the cat carrier for an hour or two when we got home, but he started exploring every inch of my condo as soon as I opened the carrier door. By the end of the night he was giving me affectionate head bumps and snuggling by my side, as if we’d known each other for ages. It took a little longer for him to get out of hyper mode, but by the end of week 1 he mellowed out and (mostly) stayed out of trouble. I got a new roommate 2 weeks after I adopted Zagreus, and they hit it off immediately. She affectionately calls him her “little menace” because he was a bit hyper/disruptive the first week she was living with me, but now that he’s gotten used to having another person in his space he’s calmed down. Since my roommate and I both work from home, Zagreus gets a TON of attention throughout the day. He loves his straws and bats them around the condo; if one of us gets a drink from Dunkin he usually pops the straw out of the lid so he can play with it. His other favorite toys are catnip Dungeons and Dragons dice and his rainbow worm on a string. Even though I’ve had him for just over a month, Zagreus has enriched my life in so many ways and I can’t imagine life without him. He charms every single person who visits and I love him to bits. … As for stories, I could go on and on about Zagreus getting into mischief and/or making me and my roommate smile. Sending messages to my coworkers by stepping on my keyboard, stealing cookie dough while my roommate was baking, climbing to impossible heights in the basement, snuggling with his rainbow worm while he sleeps, batting away at straws, curling into me as close as possible when it’s time for bed – he’s done all of that and more. But I think the most interesting story of all is from adoption day. I was en route to Animal Haven when I got into a car accident in North Branford. It wasn’t a high speed crash and no one was injured, thankfully, but the front of my car was smashed to bits and a detached bumper left most of the internal components exposed. Driving it the rest of the way to North Haven was out of the question. As soon as I called my mom to let her know what happened, she offered to drive from Groton to North Branford so she could pick me up, take me to the shelter, then drive me back to my condo with cat in tow. (As she put it, “I know you, and one of the things you’re worried about most right now is getting that cat.”) About an hour later we were en route to North Haven, and once we got to the shelter Zagreus enthusiastically got into the cat carrier. I’ve lived with cats my whole life, and I had never seen a cat get into a carrier with such little fuss. No crying, no resistance – nothing. Then again, Zagreus and I had a connection from the start. He was the only cat to approach me during my shelter visit, he settled into my lap immediately, and once I got his paperwork I learned we have the exact same birthday (10/23). Everything worked out in the end, both with my car and with my cat. It’s been such a joy to have Zagreus in my life, and I’m looking forward to many more years together.