I spent my whole life begging my mom to let me have a cat. She always claimed she was allergic and didn’t want to clean up after any animals. Yet, somehow, my mom managed to rescue and raise various creatures. At home, there are eight cockatiels, a red-eared slider, and two beagle mixes! So, in June 2022, how could my mother resist when I brought home a chunky gray tabby named Ned to be my emotional support animal.
For the first couple of weeks, my mom insisted that he stay upstairs and I had to clean the litter box daily. By the following month, I had caught my mom on the couch with Ned cuddled up beside her– only for her to break out in hives shortly after.
Once September arrived, Ned and I experienced something new together. We went to college. I knew I was going to be the best momma he ever had– whether it was on my college campus or in my hometown. What I didn’t expect was how much I would learn from my feline furball. Seven months later, Ned has changed my life in so many ways, and I don’t know what I would do without him.
Here are reasons I love being a cat mom in college:
I always have someone to come home to. – Whether I leave for classes or I’m just switching my laundry, Ned is always waiting for me to return. When I do, he greets me at the door with the loudest meows and purrs. At times, I’d come back from a particularly rough day, but once I saw his big green eyes it was impossible to be upset anymore. He is my eternal comfort. With every step I take, he is quick on my heels hoping I won’t leave his side again.
We take care of each other. – As an emotional support animal, Ned has greatly impacted my mental health. Taking care of my cat reminds me to take care of myself as well. For tasks like changing food and water, I am reminded to have a meal myself. When I am up late watching BoJack Horseman, Ned curls up right on my laptop. I like to think he’s saying “Hey momma. It’s time to sleep, turn this off!” When he wakes up, he stretches his arms and legs but promptly plops back down. Here, he’s reminding me that it’s okay to stay in bed just a little longer. I began to feel more at peace about my days knowing I start them cuddling up with my chunky boy, Ned.
It’s a conversation starter. – When the new semester started up and everyone had to share a fun fact, mine was always that I had a cat on campus. Immediately, the responses were “Oh my gosh, a cat?!” “What’s their name?” “Can I see pictures?” The tiniest mention of cats will always help you discover fellow cat people in the same room as you. Even if someone claims to only like dogs, I will still show them a million pictures of my beautiful boy. If they still don’t agree with me, that’s okay because I will have started a conversation with a stranger. If having a cat can somehow make me more sociable, I’d greet everyone with “Hey, I’m Mandy. This is my cat, Ned and he likes you already!”
Someone is demanding some sun. – With the structure of my dorm, I had a hard time deciding where to put my kitty’s bed. After some tries, I chose to put it right on the windowsill. Ned fell in love with the view instantaneously. He spends most of his days peeking out into the busy quad and begging me with googly eyes to open the blinds. I always comply. Then, he spends hours just laying in the sun and gazing at all the students below. Ned’s love for the sun has helped me to appreciate the warmth and brightness it brings into my small space. Though, I do try to ignore the fact that he is kind of… stalking the quad.
Reciprocated love. – I like to believe that the energy you put out into the world is what you will receive. At first, I was nervous about having a 5-year-old cat in a tiny college dorm. Despite that, I had faith that Ned wouldn’t hate me for making him “move” to Massachusetts with me– At least not for too long. I made sure to have everything perfect for him and promised that I would always protect him. Much to my surprise, Ned struggled very little to adjust to dorm life. Two weeks in, he had his sleeping spots, his tunnel was all set up, and he found comfort in a cardboard box. This is when I learned that Ned didn’t require much to be happy, and I didn’t need to either. We have each other and to me, that is more than enough. All we need is our warm beds and endless love for one another. (And some snacks!)