The world through the eyes of a cat is a fascinating place. With ears that can hear sounds far quieter and almost two octaves above those that humans can perceive, enormous light-sensitive eyes with a reflective tapetum lucidum that grants them exceptional night vision, whiskers that provide a body-wide enhancement of tactile, spatial, and navigational input, and a sense of smell estimated to be around fifteen times better than our own, it is safe to say that cats live in world rich with sensory input. While the cat's incredible senses make them a beautifully specialized hunter, it also means that cats can often struggle when faced with humans and human-centric environments. While cats are complex, social creatures with vibrant individual personalities, people are often biased against them. Since they have never taken the time to, or perhaps even thought to, consider how the cat perceives the world and how her way of interacting with others may simply be different, the cat is left out, treated as second-rate, or flat-out disliked. But the cat is indeed a complex, social creature who thrives with care, enrichment, love, and support - just like any other. As an autistic person, I have seen myself in cats, found myself through cats, and have found a way to connect and orient myself to and within the world through cats. Like the cat, I have certainly often struggled to find my way in a world that isn’t always friendly towards those who have different support needs, different ways of interacting with or understanding others, and those who may perceive the world differently. For me, intense sensory issues have been incredibly impactful, and for a long time I didn’t understand what was wrong, why I felt the way I did, or what to do about it. Even after being diagnosed with ASD and beginning to understand myself better, receive more support, and connect with the disabled community, I still struggled to cope with the sensory bombardment of the campus environment, and often felt like an outsider looking in, simply a researcher observing and trying to understand. Enter stage left Sushi, the chattery siamese cat who brought me in from the outside, gave me a way to connect with others, taught me about myself. He led me to discover what I want to do with my life. Through caring for him, I was introduced to the wonderful world of veterinary medicine, and now can’t imagine doing anything else. Through learning about cat behavior, enrichment, care, and cognition, I have come to learn more about myself, and have more compassion and curiosity about myself, than I ever thought possible. As a result, my dream career is a feline specialty veterinarian, working to improve the (currently substandard) quality of care for cats, increase education about them and their needs in both the context of vet med and the broader community, and generally learn as much about them as I can in effort to improve the human-animal bond and the lives of cats everywhere. Education to me means gaining more knowledge to share with the world, and more tools in my toolbox to help myself and others through outreach, understanding, and cultivating an attitude of care and curiosity. I think a world full of curiosity is a world full of compassion! And maybe, if I'm lucky, by inspiring people to take the time to engage with and understand these amazing little creatures, they’ll be more able and willing to be compassionate and understanding towards both animals and people who are different from them.

Somewhere on the other side of things, a soft cream-and-orange form lies peacefully in a pool of paradisiacal sunlight. Although the small, serene being appears to be snoozing, or perhaps deeply meditative, if one were to look closely they would see two narrow, gleaming flecks of vibrant electric blue - the ethereal creature's eyes are open. Watching. Waiting. For he has one final task to complete before crossing fully into eternity; guiding his human across the rainbow bridge. Sushi, the dear friend I have described above, was the cat who taught me who I am, what I stand for, and who I want to be. We first collided during what was an equally tumultuous point in time for both of us - he had been left to die on the streets by people who did not wish to acknowledge and treat any of his of medical issues, and I had just begun my freshman year of college after fleeing an abusive home situation a few months prior. In a serendipitous whirlwind of events, I happened to overhear my roommate on the phone with her friend from back home. This friend had temporarily taken in a cat she thought was a scraggly, poorly-looking stray, however, upon closer inspection she realized it was their neighbor's cat. She contacted them, and was informed that they no longer wanted him due to his sudden “behavioral issues” - which would turn out to be simply symptoms of unmanaged illnesses and the resulting stress. My roommate knew crotchety cats are my weakness, so one thing led to another and that very week Sushi, then named Kitty, arrived at our apartment. We were both rather lost in life, and dearly in need of comfort, kindness, and stability - it was a match made in heaven, and love at first meow. I had no idea at the time that taking in this exceedingly scrunkly and exceptionally talkative little creature would forever alter the trajectory of my life. I had no real idea what I wanted to do with my life; some part of me hadn’t really expected to survive the abuse I had endured nor the disastrous impacts it had on my physical and mental health, so planning what I wanted to do had never been on the top of my priority list. But through caring for Sushi, with his myriad of health issues, I was exposed to the wonderful world of veterinary medicine. I wanted to do the best I possibly could by this sweet cat, so I dove head first into the literature on his conditions, which eventually branched out and blossomed into a fascination with all manner of veterinary-related topics. Eventually, Sushi did pass from his illnesses, but this terrible period of time only fueled my growing desire to become a veterinarian. Several months after he passed, I would begin my training as a veterinary assistant in the very veterinary ER where I had said good-bye to my boy, under the skillful tutelage of some of the kindest and most brilliant people I’ve had the privilege of working alongside. I hope to live a long life spent in the service of others, helping as many animals and people as I can. I love my field, despite the challenges, and am proud to be a part of it. I only hope that when my time here is done, and I meet Sushi again at the rainbow bridge, that I have honored his memory and made him proud.