People sometimes ask me if I want children, and while in the past I didn’t say much in response, these days my answer is simple. I already have one: Miki.

She’s furry, dramatic, mischevious, clingy, and refuses to let me sleep in peace. She climbs upto the roof, hunts and eats lizards, runs around at insane speeds, and has an entire language made up of meows and mysterious stares. I don’t think a human child could beat that, right?

Okay, jokes aside… I’ve never really had a ‘maternal instinct’ in the traditional sense. Unless, a fur baby is involved. When it comes to Miki, I don’t mind staying up all night if she’s unwell, playing with her as long as she wants, giving her meds even if she scratches me, cleaning up the mess she makes, and taking care of her in every way I can. I find joy and meaning in caring for her and being responsible for her.

Maybe the kind of child I wanted isn’t a human baby. It’s Miki scratching furniture and pushing things off tables. It’s her zooming through the room at 2am like she’s chasing a ghost. It’s her curling up on my lap after attacking her mouse toy. It’s her following me around and always being in the same room as me. It’s her quiet companionship, her unpredictable moods, her meows, her stares, her hide-n-seek games that make the house feel alive.

Some people have both cats and babies – the best of both worlds, maybe. They post photos of their children next to their cat, growing up together. They post the silly things their children said or did. But I’ve never looked at those posts and thought “I want that too”. For me, Miki feels enough. I don’t feel like there’s a missing piece to complete the picture. I don’t look at her and think she’s the warm-up act before the real parenting begins. To me, she is the show.

Miki is it – my only child. Furry, chaotic, hilarious, adorable, and completely irreplaceable.