Appa is a ragdoll cat, but he acts more like a dog. He even goes walks on his leash.
At home, it sounds silly, but he’ll actually play tag with me.
He’ll chase me, tap me on the leg and then run away, as if I’m to chase him. It’s really adorable.
I got him last year, July 2023, sort of by accident.
He was my mum’s friend’s replacement cat, bought after hers went missing.
But then, five weeks after the original cat disappeared, it came back.
They couldn’t keep Appa along with the other cat, so had to look for a new home for him.
I was in need of a cat, so I got him – for free! And he’s like a top of the range cat, so that’s mad.
They just wanted to make sure he went to a loving home, which he has.
There’s a lot involved in looking after him, especially his coat. I have to brush him constantly. Every night I sit on the sofa, and he jumps on to the footstool, waiting to be brushed.
He plays like a dog with my mum’s cats. But you can also just leave him to do his own thing, which is nice.
I’ve had cats growing up, but he’s my first cat on my own.
Appa the ragdoll named after cult cartoon
Appa is named after the bison from Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is an anime cartoon from Nickelodeon.
When I was about 12, I said: ‘When I get my own cat, I’ll call him Appa.’ I’m 31 now, so it just took me a long time to get one!
He’s even got an arrow on his head, like Appa the bison – though it’s pointing up instead of down – which was really fortuitous.
Appa was a very bold kitten, always running around the flat – sometimes literally running up the walls at 5am, which was a bit of a nightmare.
I live near a busy road, so I couldn’t just let him out.
I thought I’d harness train him instead so I could take him out on a leash.
People online will advise you to let a cat get used to a harness for a couple of weeks before trying to take them outside with it. Some cats will just lie down and go floppy when you put it on them.
Not Appa. I just stuck it on him and he was like: ‘Oh, amazing.’ He was immediately totally fine, and we went out the same day.
Appa’s adventures around the Howff
I was walking around Dudhope Park for a while, but then I realised the Howff cemetery is way closer to me, and it’s nicer for him too.
There’s trees and flowers for him to explore, loads of interesting smells. And sometimes bunnies for him to chase – which he never catches, obviously!
That would be a shame for the bunnies.
He comes out of the flat in his backpack, which has a wee window. Then I take him out and walk him.
Sometimes I keep the top of the backpack open and he peeks out. When we get close to home, he jumps up on to my shoulder and rides around.
I wish he’d do it all the time, it’s really cute.
We certainly get lots of people stopping us, he’s very popular. But he likes the attention, and I kind of do too.
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