It’s been a while and I missed writing. Having not written in a couple of months also means that I’ve been sitting here for hours, with a lot of thoughts in my head but nothing on paper. The world has turned another page since I wrote the last post. It’s 2024! No, my first post isn’t going to be about goals or resolutions. If you are craving that content you can refer to my last year’s post. 🙂 I’ve been meaning to write about a lot of topics and it’s been a struggle to narrow down to the one as the first post for 2024. What better than to start with an unusual topic that I haven’t mentioned ever on this blog before.
A bit of context
We’ve had a cat for over 3 years now. I’ve never had a pet before this, I didn’t know anything about pets. Besides the rare moments of peak frustration with human connection or lack thereof, me declaring that I’m getting a dog. I never actually had any concrete plans for getting one. Then one day my husband decided that we should help a kitten he found abandoned in the parking lot. It’s a kitten! It’s damn cute! While I lived in a false hope for 10 days, that my husband actually wants to find a home for him elsewhere. I had already fallen in love with the little devil. I call him devil only on account of usurping my husband and my home. Apart from that he is the sweetest cat I’ve ever seen.
As you can already guess I didn’t know much about animals in general. Even now I can say I know very little about them except cats. Since one is living under my roof I can say I am fascinated to learn about these creatures who are majestic beings in the wild and cute as a button at home. Now, before I say another word, it’ll be good to clarify that I am aware of the people who are very decidedly in either a cat or a dog camp. I am in neither. I haven’t interacted much with dogs so I don’t have any personal experienced based opinion on them. About cats also I am still discovering. 🙂 I’m always wondering what’s going in that little head of my cat when it’s looking at me intently as if it understands every word I say to him.
What I learned from my cat?
Now, I’ve no idea to what extent my cat understands me, he certainly is not learning anything from me. I on the other hand already admire my feline companion and have a few things that I’d say we all should learn from cats in general. Here are five things I learn from my cat:
1. Unapologetically and sassily selfish
I don’t think generally any animal cares what humans think apart from maybe dogs (as I said I don’t know anything about dogs), but cats are usually termed as selfish and jerks. Well, I think we can certainly learn to be a little like them. Cats are very clear about what their needs are and they aren’t gonna compromise on that. If they are hungry they don’t care if it’s 5 a.m. and you went to bed at 2:00 a.m. it’s food time. You should’ve thought about your erratic lifestyle before you decided to get a kitty as your pet. Did you think you were just getting a toy to cuddle with? If they don’t feel like cuddling you, I’d advise to stay away :). They have utmost respect for their needs, routine and their personal space. No one can make them feel bad about it.
2. Resilience
When it comes to cats we usually think about a round face and adorable eyes. They are survivors. In the three years that I have my cat, it’s an indoor cat for the most part, we just take him out as he enjoys exploring. He’s also most shy and scaredy cat I’ve ever come across. Anxious among company of other people or animals. A couple of months ago though it ran into our neighbours garden and we couldn’t find him. We searched for him at night and in day light to no avail.
I had almost given up hope when after 2 nights and 3 days I received a call from my husband that he had found him hiding up a tree! I couldn’t believe my ears. When we did find him he was unhurt (Thank God!). He managed to find a safe space for himself, managed to climb a tree which I couldn’t believe as we had tried that before. Avoid a large water body right next to the tree. I was more than impressed at the survival instinct he had shown for an anxious and shy cat. Definitely made me think we can do a lot of what we think impossible if situation demands it of us.
3. Curiosity
While it is an anxious cat. The one thing cats are known for is being curious. The phrase curiosity killed the cat couldn’t be more apt. it was this curiosity that made him cross the street and explore the new area. Whether it’s outdoors or the new package delivered at home. No matter how scared he is of the vacuum cleaner or the new box. He will find the courage to approach nearer and sniff around. I’m sure if we remain curious in most of the situations instead of relying on our preconceived notions and biases, the world could be a lot better place.
4. Nonchalance
Their cuteness aside, I think the top reason we find these felines adorable is their nonchalance. They give no cents to anyone around them and what they think. While it may be that they are animals and it comes easy to them. I personally don’t see this attitude among all other animals. They like their personal space and have an aura that all you can do is just admire them. I certainly would like to pick up a little bit of that devil may care attitude for my peace of mind. 🙂
5. Self-care
You wouldn’t know about cat’s self-grooming habits unless you’ve been around one. But once you spend some time around a cat you’ll discover this is where they spend majority of their time next to sleeping. Cats are known for their agility, flexibility and always landing on four feet. While their physique has a lot to do with it but I will also give some credit to the amount of time they spend on their beauty sleep and self-grooming.
Cats are quite finicky when it comes to keeping clean, they stay away from wet and dirty places if they can avoid it. They prefer to keep their food and water area clean and always cover after doing their business. Cats might sleep with one eye open but they spend 12-18 hours sleeping and anytime they go to sleep they give themselves a through clean before that. The point I am trying to make is whether it is the agile and quick kitty in your home or a fierce predator, enough time spent on self-care plays an important role to summon all that quick wit in the crucial moment.
I hope we all can learn something from interesting behaviours from not just cats but more all living beings around us. With that thought I wish you all a very Happy new Year! May you have a wonderful 2024!
Until next week. Ciao!
