Meet my team, this is "Kitten"! by Riva Dill-Garlow

Meet my team, this is "Kitten"!

Riva Dill-Garlow | APR 4, 2022

#yincat #yinkitty #kittenyoga #yogacat

I’d love for you to get to know my team. This is — I’d love for you to get to know my team. This is "Kitten" and he is one of my most involved assistants. He contributes welcome “Meows” and loves to take part in yoga practices of all kinds. His origin was a bush in Southern California. I found him during graduate school when one day I heard these tiny little cries coming from somewhere outside. I eventually identified the bush he was hiding in which was just outside the window in my living room. He was so tiny and the only explanation was that he must have somehow been separated from his mommy. Of course, I fed him. How can anyone hear such helpless sounds coming from a baby animal and not immediately need to help in any way that they could? So, every day I went out to that bush and put some food and milk out for him and he’d quickly eat it all. He was still not completely sure about me, but he did appreciate that I brought him food to eat. He eventually took to chasing me all the way back to my door and then ran back to his hiding place. Over time he developed a game of playfully chasing each of my feet as I took each step when I would go out to my car to go to the lab. He’d do the same when I came home as he’d wait and watch for me to get close. When my family was visiting, they saw this playful little kitten and questioned why I didn’t just let him in. I explained that I didn’t technically have a kitten, I just found him, fed him and eventually created an outdoor house he could stay in in case he was cold... 😉 Well, finally I invited him inside and the rest is history. My family loved his deep chocolatey brown color and stripes and named him Schokolade (Chocolate in German). The thing is, I spent so much time practicing the belief that if you don’t name an animal, you technically won’t keep them, I had only ever called him “Kitten” because I felt I needed to identify him in some way and it eventually became the name to which he responded.

Riva Dill-Garlow | APR 4, 2022

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