Take a Meow-ment and think about all the lessons you’ve learned in your life. How many of those lessons did you learn from your pets? You may think this question is Paw-sitively ridiculous, but I would like to Purr-suade you otherwise. I have two cats, a Bengal named Ivy and a Tortoiseshell cat named Molly and here are 10 lessons I’ve learned from this Meow-nificent duo.
1. Forgiveness
Now I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but cats are pretty much professional roadblocks. They are like the reality equivalent of a cartoon banana peel: I am always tripping over them and they just appear out of nowhere. Although no matter how many times I trip over them, they still forgive me. Maybe because I’m the only one that suffers, but anyways, cats don’t judge! Be like a cat: forgive and forget. To have cat-titude is to have a paw-sitive attitude.
2. Trust & Loyalty
You have to earn a cat’s trust, but once you have it, there is a guaranteed sense of loyalty. Some people trust until others prove they can’t be trusted. Others, like my cats, think trust should be earned. I think everyone is different. My cats know I earned their trust and therefore hang around me with no issues. I’m not paw-leased to share that my cats have yet to learn that trust is a two-way street. I will always protect them, but they will not always protect the remaining betta fish which co-exist with them.
3. Unconditional Love
My cats love unconditionally. They don’t care about my hiss-tory or my future, they just care about the here and the now and dinner. They really care about their dinner. They treat me like a fur-end despite how different I am from them. Those bundles of love, fur-get my flaws. Be like my cats and love without borders or bias.
4. Nutrition
My cats always make sure they get their dinner. I, on the other hand, am constantly missing meals. Cats know what is up! If you don’t eat you’ll be *feline* weak. You need to fuel your body, give it paw-er!
5. Contentment
My cats live a very simple life and yet they are content. They started off as scared skinny strays, now they are happy and a healthy kind of chubby. All they need is a little love, some toys, a place to sleep and play, as well as some food and water. Cats don’t purr-sue what they don’t have, they just live in the moment.
6. Seizing Opportunities
When one door opens, one cat exits. My cats are obsessed with getting into open doors. Anytime a door opens they are right there. This is a good lesson for us humans, we should go bravely and enthusiastically into open doors to see where they lead. Maybe not open doors on sketchy unmarked vehicles (curiosity did kill the cat after all) but the metaphorical open doors.
7. Have Fun
My cats don’t take life seriously. If your cats do take life seriously, you might want to get that checked out. My cats are all about having fun and playing games … which involve victimizing me. Molly’s favourite game right now is just springing out and wrapping around my leg, in order to deliver a vampire-esque bite, she finds this hiss-terical. You have one life: it would be cat-astrophic if you didn’t have a little fun.
8. Naps
Ivy and Molly love their beauty sleep, another thing I am lacking in … sleep! Make sure to take a nap if you need one, it can energize you to take on the rest of the day. Go cat-ch some emergency zZz’s!
9. Persistence
This furry duo won’t give up until they get what they want. My one cat Molly will lick my face and climb all over me with her tiny paws until I wake up and give her attention. They will stop at nothing to get attention. Chase your dreams like my cats chase attention.
10. Communication
When my cats need something they tell me when they don’t like something they tell me. My cats are very good at communicating their feelings. Of course, they only know one word, but I know most of the time what they are trying to say is, “I’m hungry.” Don’t be afraid to speak what’s on your mind, if my cats can, you can too!
In conclusion, I know this article offered no radi-claw ideas but maybe, at the very least, you are more fur-miliar with what cats can teach us. Cats are furry claw-ver creatures and I’m furry fur-tunate to have two purr-fect cat fur-ends in my life.