At the beginning of quarantine, I adopted two new cats (one for my sister and one for me.) I always knew I loved animals and wanted a pet someday, I just didn’t know having a pet would become such a large part of my identity.
So because I think of nothing more than my kitten, Sai, of course, he deserves this article just as all cats do!
Read along if you can relate, or you’re considering adopting and I’ll share with you the perks of being a cat mom.
And this is not to be confused as anti-dog dogma. Dogs are cool too, but I have cats. If you were preparing for a debate, this isn’t that!
I received Sai when he was just 2 months old. He weighed less than a pound and hid under couches and tables while his sister, Saki, ran around exploring their new home.
Today he is about 10 months and weighs about the same.
I watched him grow from hiding in dark corners to commanding the whole house as if he pays the bills. My cat will YELL if his access to any room is restricted, and he does not mind obnoxiously waking me up at 5 a.m. if he is ready for breakfast.
Witnessing the evolution of his confidence made me see the value of how the love you give to someone will help them blossom into a loud asshole who persists to get what they want. He taught me the true meaning of, “closed mouths don’t get fed.”
His diabolical sleep schedule also helps me get my days started earlier.
Speaking of schedules, cats typically sleep for the majority of the day, and that’s when you should get all your work done. Once you break out of the phase where you stare at them lovingly as they sleep (if ever), you have a good couple of hours to complete your weekly schedule and get serious work in.
I say this because once Sai is awake, he will lay directly on my keyboard and activate forbidden settings on my laptop that I never knew existed. He will sit in on my Zoom meetings or generally just look too cute to focus on anything.
So as a cat mom, time management is crucial.
My cat also helped me realize how arbitrary so many of our human rules are.
As adults, there is such a thing as too much fun or too much energy which logically doesn’t make much sense.
So when my cat chases his sister all over the house, breaking insignificant objects, or begs to explore the outside world for longer, I handle it from the perspective of not knowing the value of anything– because they don’t. This showed me that so many of the things we are proud of are just that– things.
People respond with, “he has too much energy” or “you let him get away with too much.” It is as if we want everyone to be as wound up as we are, and the sight of anyone enjoying freedom from responsibility is too much to bear.
Sai shows me it’s important to play for no reason and love is worth more than 10-year-old vases from Pier 1 Imports.
My cat motivates me to want more for myself.
I’ve been dealing with a serious bout of depression, and some days I just want to pretend I don’t exist. It’s those days when my cat comes to lay with me or beckons me for food that forces me to get up and consider why it’s important for me to work hard.
His food is expensive and it’s up to me to prioritize my health so I can maximize my earning potential and get his food and unnecessary toys! It’s shallow, but it helps.
My cat turned me into the type of parent my friends and I made fun of.
I advocate for my pets at the vet more than I advocate myself when I’m alone at the doctor’s office. Still, maybe all of this advocacy and defense will rub off on me in the long run!
There are so many perks of having a cat and neither of us has time to uncover them all. But let’s just say, if there was a university for cats, Sai would have his own college fund.
All in all, being a cat mom has opened me up to deep love and responsibility in a way that only pets and kids can. It’s hard to stay mad at my cats and that shows me that most things aren’t that serious. I am better because of them. You can be too. Just adopt a cat.
Here’s a shortlist of adoption shelters around Atlanta:
FurKids- Georgia’s Largest Animal Rescue, No-Kill Shelters and Sanctuary: https://furkids.org/#
Best Friends – No-Kill Shelter: https://bestfriends.org/locations/best-friends-atlanta
Angels Among Us Pet Rescue- Nonprofit shelter for animals in need: https://angelsrescue.org/adopt/
PAWS Atlanta- No-Kill adoption and foster center: http://www.pawsatlanta.org/
Lifeline Animal Project- largest animal welfare organization: https://www.fultonanimalservices.com/adoptable-animals