Name of pet: Tigger
Birthdate: August 20th
Species: Kartika
Food: Bugs and small birds
Habitat: Deciduous trees in North America. Kartika live at the tops of trees in the summer and borrow undergrown in the winter when the leaves fall off.
Likes: Climbing, jumping, eating cheeseburgers
Dislikes: Swimming, baths, thunderstorms
Strengths: Very good climber, can jump far distances
Weaknesses: Not a good swimmer, mistrustful of unknown people
Special abilities: Can fall from great heights without injury, turns invisable if hair goes unbrushed
Favourite activities: Playing tug of war, climbing, eating, cuddling and being brushed
Special care: Claws must be trimmed every day (if not declawed) or will grow at a fast rate and soon be dangerous
Vets name: Doctor Ben Schiff
Other specifics: Due to the magical properties of the long fur turning the entire creature invisable, he must be brushed every day to ensure he stays visable (see journal day for more information)
He's very playful and loves attention. Being alone for too long makes him sad and depressed.
Kartika's only need to be fed once every two days to survive but enjoy eating greatly.
Day 1
Today, while walking through the forest on my evening walk, I saw the strangest creature lying sprawled out on the ground under a tree. As I slowly approached the creature it looked up at me and tried to get up but it appeared to be injured as it did not manage to pull itself off of the ground. I dropped down to the ground next to it to get a better look.
Similar to a cat in resemblance but much fluffier, like a cloud, and larger as well, the creature was bright orange with black stripes along its body. It had a plain orange head with a yellow nose and black ears and a long tail that was black with white stripes.
It tried to lift itself off the ground again, and this time, wobbling a bit, it managed to stand. Looking at the creature in wonder, I saw that it only had two legs: one pure black, and one pure white. It took one more step before it fell down again with a pitiful little moan. Filled with concern, I decided that I would take it in to the local vet and see if he knew what the creature was and how I could help it.
Putting out my hand to the creature so he could first sniff it, I then scooped him up into my arms. He made a frightened noise before seeming to decide that it was no use fighting and lay limp in my arms. Bringing it into the mudroom of my house, I set it down gently and when off in search of a box. Upon finding a box big enough, I stuffed it with blankets and placed the creature inside. Then I loaded him up into the passenger seat and drove to the vet.
When I arrived, I explained the situation to a nurse who looked at the creature in understanding.
“You’ve found a Kartika!” she exclaimed.
“I found a what?” I say in confusion.
“They’re really rare, tree dwelling creatures! I’ll have Dr. Schiff explain. Follow me.”
I followed her to an examination room and set the box onto the table. I sat down in one of the chairs and waited for Dr. Schiff to enter the room.
“I hear you have a Kartika,” he said with a smile on his face.
“So I’ve heard. What are they?”
He then explained to me how Kartika’s live at the top of deciduous trees in the northeast of the United States. Though bright in color, they are not often seen, and when they are, they’re mistaken for the orange clump of leaves that are usually found high up in deciduous trees. He told me how they usually live away from houses in denser areas of forest where they are free to leap from tree to tree and build nests wherever they choose. Their long tails help them to balance even on the thinnest of branches.
“What about in the winter? Surely someone must see them when the leaves are all gone?” I ask.
“Ahhh, yes, that is what you would think, but in the winter they use their sharp claws to burrow under ground where they stay for the remainder of the winter. They’re quite interesting creatures.”
“Well, the one I found appears to be injured…is there any way we can help him? And would it be possible for me to take him home with me?”
“Kartika’s are gentle, though shy, animals and will be very loyal to their masters, so there is no danger in taking him home. Let me take a quick look and see what’s wrong with our furry friend and then I can send you on your way with a few important things for you to know about taking care of him.”
After taking the Kartika to another room for a X-ray, Dr Schiff returns to the room to report that the Kartika had sprained one of his legs, probably from a fall from a particularily high tree, and though, like all of his species, able to survive such a long fall, he probably landed wrong. Without the use of one of his legs, he would have died without help as he wouldn’t have been able to climb back up to his family. The doctor explains that he’s put a small cast on Kartika and I should bring him back in two days for it to be removed.
“Thank you so much!” I exclaim. “Would you mind going over what I need to do to ensure he has the best care possible?”
“Of course. Kartikas usually eat bugs or small birds, but since you are planning on domesticating him, you might not be too fond of feeding him such things. You can experiment with cat and dog food and see if he likes any of those. They only need to eat once every two days to be happy but will eat at any chance they get so be careful about how much you feed him or it could become unhealthy. In the wild, Kartika’s will brush up against tree bark to remove excess hair to keep themselves groomed. You will want to brush him at least once a day to keep this routine going. Since they enjoy climbing so much, don’t be surprised if once he’s regained use of his leg he begins climbing up into high areas of your house. You might even want to get him some type of climbing pole like cats use just for his use. Also, you should trim his nails everyday because they grow very fast and could become dangerous. I think that’s hit all the major points. If you need any other help feel free to call the office here, but if not I’ll see you in two days. Does that sound good?”
“
Yes, thank you so much for all your help! I’ll see you in two days!”
That was two hours ago, and since returning home the Kartika has been content to just lie on my bed. I’ve decided I’ll save all of my shopping for tomorrow and just make sure there’s nothing he leaves.
I’ve decided I’ll name him Tigger because of his striped looks that remind me so much of The Adventure’s of Winnie the Pooh. I gave him a bit of the pasta I cooked so he wouldn’t be hungry until I by him some proper food.
I’m off to sleep now, but I intend to shut the bedroom door so he can’t go wandering off. I’ll keep this journal going as I explore what it’s like to keep a Kartika in the house.
Day 2
What an eventful day I’ve had today! I’m exhausted! The morning started with me waking up in confusion as to why there was a weight pressing down on my stomach. Then I remembered about Tigger coming home with me. I sat up a bit and as Tigger slid off me with a reproachful look in his eyes, I smiled.
“Alright, bud,” I’d said, getting out of bed and getting dressed as he limped around the room. “I’m gonna go buy you some things, okay? I’ll be back soon.”
I left, shutting the door to the bedroom behind me. I arrived at the pet store and began looking around at what Tigger would possibly want.
These are the items I bought for him to try:
-dog food
-cat food
-tug of war toy
-chew toy
-an animal brush
-some cat/dog shampoo
-a cat climbing toy
-dog/cat treats
-nail clippers
-dog bed
-a dog leash
-dog collar
-dog bowls
Upon returning home, I opened my bedroom door and couldn’t see Tigger anywhere.
“Tigger?” I said slowly, stepping further into the room and beginning to look in possible hiding spots. Growing panicked when I still couldn’t find him I wonder where he possible could have gone. Unless he’d managed to open the bedroom door, leave and close it behind him he had to still be in the room. Looking frantically around the room, I take a step and my foot lands on something squishy. Looking down I can’t see anything below my foot but hear a growling noise coming from it.
I drop down to the ground. Some orange hairs come off of what my foot had been floating on. Curious, I run my hand over what appears to be furry air and more hairs come off. Could Kartika’s have the ability to go invisible? But as more hairs fell, the more visible Tigger became. With realization hitting me, I ran downstairs to get his brush. Coming back to the slightly visible blob that was Tigger, I began brushing him until he was fully visible again. Intrigued by these new turn events I wonder what other surprises he might have.
I begin clipping his nails which have grown much longer since yesterday and then I unload the rest of the items I’d bought. As soon as the climbing toy came out of the car and into the house, Tigger leaped up to the top level. Smiling, I walk over and pet him and he begins to make a little whining noise inside. Concerned that he doesn’t like it, I remove my hand, but he comes up and nudges my hand. Perhaps that whining noise is similar to a cats purr? I sat down and pet him for a while and then got out the tug of war rope. I swung it around in front of him and the whining noise got louder as he began to paw at it. Grasping it in his mouth, he began to pull hard. Surprised at his strength, I pull harder too. We continue at this for a while before I grew tired and gave up. Glad that I’d found something that he liked, I spent the rest of the day petting him and playing various games of tug of war.
He also seemed to enjoy just lying down and cuddling with me which he did while I read. I had a very enjoyable day but all those hours of pulling on a rope really wore me out.
Tigger seems to be enjoying his pet bed too but now that I’m in bed, he seems to have decided he wants to be there too. More tomorrow!
Day 3
Today I tried to give Tigger a bath. He definitely did not enjoy it. But he was smelly and really needed one. I first put his collar on and then the leash which I hooked around a chair outside so he couldn’t run away. Then, using a hose, I wet him down and shampooed him up. He started making this extremely loud, miserable yowling sound and tried to fight his leash. He must not like water at all because when I got the hose back out to wash the soap off he looked even more miserable than before. Still, if he wants to live in the house he’s gonna have to smell good.
Following the bath, I dried him off and then brushed him until he made his whining noise which I took as him letting me know I was forgiven for making him take a bath. I then trimmed his nails again to make sure they didn’t get out of control.
Putting his leash back on, I decided to take him for a walk around the neighborhood. He seemed to enjoy the freedom of being able to walk outside but the few people who were out stared at him with curiosity, some even coming up to ask what he was. Every time someone would do so, Tigger would shrink back and hide behind me which means he must be scared of people he doesn’t know. All the same, he had an enjoyable walk overall though we didn’t go far because I was scared of overexerting his hurt leg.
Once I returned home, I invited my closest friends over to cook out cheeseburgers and have a movie night. We had a good time hanging out and Tigger even grew to like them and be more comfortable around them as the night went on. When it came time to eating, I put a bowl of dog food out for him which he consumed immediately. While we were eating our cheeseburgers, Tigger came up onto the table. I tried to get him off, scolding him for how that’s not allowed, but he just jumped up again. Wondering why he was doing this now but not last night, I took him off the table again. He jumped up again and before I could stop him took a huge chunk out of my cheeseburger. Immediately, the whining noise started again.
We all laughed as we realized he really liked the cheeseburger. I put a mental note in my head to ask Dr. Schiff if that was okay when I see him tomorrow before allowing him to have a bit more cheeseburger.
During the movie, Tigger came and snuggled with us all. Now he’s once again in my bed which he seems to like to do at night even though when he sleeps during the day he sleeps in his dog bed. I’ll update this again tomorrow but good night for now!
Day 4
I woke up today to find Tigger hovering over my face making that whining sound. After giving him a few pets and playing a couple games of tug of war with him, I took him back to the vet.
Dr. Schiff asked me how everything had been going and I explained about the phenomenon of the invisible event. He was very surprised about this and said he’d ask around with other vets to see if anyone had ever heard of this before. When I asked about the cheeseburgers, the doctor laughed but told me that an occasional cheeseburger treat would be of no harm to him.
After deciding Tigger was in good shape, he took off the cast (explaining that Kartika’s heal very fast) and allowed me to take him home again.
Once I returned home, I took him for a longer walk around the neighborhood, which he seemed to enjoy and he even dug around a bit for some bugs to eat. On our way back, the sky seemed to become very dark and threatening. Tigger began getting very nervous and walked low to the ground, skulking along. Worried about him, I picked up my pace to return home. As thunder rumbled over head, Tigger gave a yowl of fright and doubled his pace up the driveway.
Understanding hit me as I realized he was scared of thunderstorms, perhaps because of the dangers they would have towards his natural habitat if lightning was to strike a tree he was living in.
For the rest of the night he’s been following me around everywhere, not letting me leave his sight. Poor thing is too scared to even play a proper game of tug of war.
After brushing his fur again and clipping his nails, I gave him a bit of cheeseburger leftovers to cheer him up and a few cat treats before we both climbed into bed. Tigger actually joined me under the covers out of fear. I’ll update tomorrow again. I think I finally might be getting the hang of caring for him. It’s not too bad at all!
Day 5
I took Tigger for his daily walk along the block and he seems to be becoming more familiar with the neighbors who he no longer shrinks away from and even lets them pet him. Though the neighbors are still shocked by his appearance, they agree that he makes a wonderful, gentle pet and some even brought him some treats to eat. Remembering what the doctor said about not letting him eat too much, I decided we better skip his main meal today and make sure he doesn’t get into any cheeseburgers.
Upon arriving home, I brushed him while I read for a while as the familiar whining noise rose to a pleasant drone in the background. When I was done brushing, I clipped his nails and began a fierce tug of war battle. He won some, and I won some but after a while we both became tired out.
Tigger leapt up onto his climbing pole where he lay down for a nap. I went to take a nap of my own and when I woke up, I couldn’t find him. Knowing that he couldn’t be invisible as I’d just brushed him nor could he have left the house with all the doors locked, I began to search the house.
Finally, while walking in the living room, I heard that whining sound coming from above me. Looking up, I saw Tigger precariously perched on the fan. Wondering how in the world he’d managed to jump up there when there was nothing he could’ve jumped from near around, I began to worry about how I would get him down.
Suddenly, he simply leapt from the fan to the ground. With a gasp of horror I ran to see if he was hurt only to find him peering up at me with a curious expression on his face as if wondering why I was acting so strange. Remembering that he had survived a fall much greater than that of from the top of a ceiling I relaxed.
We’re now cuddled up in bed together after a very nice couple of days together. It sure is exciting to have such a rare, exotic pet for my own. Good night.
Subject: Animal Lover Badge 
