It all started about a year ago, my great grandma became sick and was unable to stay in her apartment at the assisted living facility. She had to leave her cat behind. My sister stepped up and would go to her apartment every day to feed and pet the cat. After 3 days of being with Pepino, she came home an emotional wreck and told my parents that we absolutely had to take the cat in.

My dad is NOT a cat person at all and was very skeptical of this idea seeing as though we already had a dog. After a week of begging, it was decided the cat would come live with us "temporarily". He was very shy at first and didn't leave the small room that was once used as our playroom. As weeks passed he would venture out into other rooms downstairs and became more social with the family.

Now, I have failed to mention that when we were given this cat, he was 22 pounds. My Nanny had dementia and would forget she fed him, so he ate a lot of cat food... and bacon. He has since been put on a diet and has lost weight. He now roams the house like the king he thinks he is. He loves my sister the most out of all of us and when she moves out, he will be going to live with her.

Pepino has quite the personality, which I didn't think was possible for a cat. My great grandma used to tell us that he was a special cat, that she had never experienced a cat with this much attitude and character. We never really understood what she was talking about, but now we all get it. He always wants food, he knows 10 p.m. is treat time, he knows my sister's morning routine, and he will have full on conversations with people. I have a video of Emily cooking soup. Pepino is meowing like crazy and she just keeps telling him that cats can't eat soup.

If Emily is late for 10 p.m. treats, he will walk up to her, meow, and paw at her until she gets up to get the box of treats. Pepino also thinks he can eat the dog's food, which has become quite a problem and now they both need to be monitored during their dinner time. If you know my family at all, you know that we all have a ton of nicknames, Pepino is no exception to this rule! Within weeks of living with us, he had developed a list of nicknames, the most popular being Pino and Ween (which stems from Pino Weeno).

This cat has come to mean the world to me. When we lost my great grandma a few months ago, Pepino was a great source of comfort for me. I spent a lot of time hugging him and even crying near him. It was nice to still have a piece of her heart with us... even if it was in the form of a cat. Being at college I find myself missing the cutie, especially when I went to a cat cafe close to campus. Receiving pictures of him sleeping on all the pillows or standing in the window sill reminds me of how excited I am to see him in just one short week. I never thought a cat would make such an impact on my life, but Pepino snuck his way into my heart and he is here to stay.