I have always wanted a pet since I was a child but never had the chance to until my first year in graduate school in Toronto when I borrowed my colleague's 6-year-old cat Roxy to test drive whether I could handle having a pet. Unknown to me, Roxy suffered from years of abuse and neglect. My colleague preferred if he did not have to take Roxy back due to her feral level of aggression. This is the beginning of a very beautiful 11 year journey between Roxy and I. I learned to use different methods to build trust on her end, allowing her to decide to make contact only when she believed it was safe. It took several years to curb completely her aggression against me - and several more against other people. The outcome was worth every ounce of effort. I consider my relationship with Roxy one of my greatest achievements. While Roxy was under my care, I also fostered 2 adult male cats. Roxy passed in the fall of 2020. Since then, I have opted not to have pets because of my partner's allergies. Instead, I find company with pets through housesitting for my friends when they are away to care for their pets. In 2022, I housesat and cared for my friend Rodrigue's cat while he was away for work for 7 weeks and in 2023, I took care of my friend Erin's 2 Maine coons with dietary restrictions for about 2 weeks at her home while she travelled with family. After that I got on rover. I enjoy catsitting/housesitting very much because I get to take my time to bond with cats. When housesitting, I also take out the garbage, grab the mail and do other miscellaneous minor tasks you may need done.