In a recent post, I wrote about how my husband and I were kind of stuck in a netherworld of wanting another cat, but of not feeling ready.
Last weekend we took a trip to the SPCA to test the waters. By that point I felt I was ready, but my husband didn't. Then, we met our cat. It was a cat I had seen before but never visited; every time I saw her, she already had a visit tag for that day, so I needed to visit cats who hadn't been visited. But I felt like I wanted to get to know her better. I liked the way she looked at me -- as if she knew me.
She's still adjusting, of course, but still seems very different from our previous two cats. She doesn't say much, for instance, even when she's hungry (our other cats would wail and complain, and when we told them they'd have to wait for dinner time, they'd start nipping our feet). However, she's a sweet kitty and is already proving herself to be a lap cat.
I knew that cats were an important part of my self-care, but I'd forgotten how much. Since the arrival of SC, my anxiety levels have plummeted by a factor of ten, at least. I'm less depressed. I'm more hopeful. I don't just love cats, I need cats.
Last weekend we took a trip to the SPCA to test the waters. By that point I felt I was ready, but my husband didn't. Then, we met our cat. It was a cat I had seen before but never visited; every time I saw her, she already had a visit tag for that day, so I needed to visit cats who hadn't been visited. But I felt like I wanted to get to know her better. I liked the way she looked at me -- as if she knew me.
She's still adjusting, of course, but still seems very different from our previous two cats. She doesn't say much, for instance, even when she's hungry (our other cats would wail and complain, and when we told them they'd have to wait for dinner time, they'd start nipping our feet). However, she's a sweet kitty and is already proving herself to be a lap cat.
I knew that cats were an important part of my self-care, but I'd forgotten how much. Since the arrival of SC, my anxiety levels have plummeted by a factor of ten, at least. I'm less depressed. I'm more hopeful. I don't just love cats, I need cats.
What terrific news! :)
ReplyDeleteI understand this completely! After having lived with cats from age 15 to age 44, I am now no longer a Cat Momma :(
ReplyDeleteMy last boy, a big black cat called Scooter, passed away last year- a year ago next week, actually. He was 19 1/2 years old. I cried every day for 8 months. SInce then I cry a few times a week. Some evenings I just hold his blanket and cry.
I have grieved more for him than for any human!
I can't yet face having another cat. But I know I cope better, feel better, and am even a better person for having one. But at the moment, I can't even put his bed away :( so it would be unfair to have another.
Your blog is very helpful. I used to have a blog about living with bi-polar. It was a diary and also a log of art and craft things that I made, the effect of mood on creativity etc. I have let the blog go in the last few months and it's hard to return to it. I hope you are happy in not updating yours, and if not, that you find the strength and time to return to it.
Best regards, and thanks.