A different kind of joy

Recently, our pet kitten got a case of the stomach virus. He’s been refusing to eat much food, and was not drinking any water from the bowl at all. At the initial phase, the cat was vomiting regularly as well. He’s lost a few pounds of weight, and has been quite lethargic around the house. It’s the first time since our family adopted the kitten back in April that we’ve experienced it being sick, and I have to say it’s rather heart-wrenching to see your beloved pet struggling with energy.

I would be working throughout the day and at the back of mind I’m instead thinking of the well-being of the cat, hoping the stomach sickness will soon pass. As I go to check up on him every now and then, it’s utterly discouraging to see him sitting down with downcast eyes, lacking in the usual pep and welcome. The worst feeling is to watch him refuse to take any food or drink, try as I may to switch out the variety, hoping that something would catch the cat’s taste buds. How can an animal go so long without taking a sip of water? Apparently cats can, though probably not the most ideal.

There’s a joy of relief when the cat does take a bit of food, and some vitality have returned in him. It’s enough to make a person emotional, and it’s a feeling that I reckon is unique in pet owners and parents with young kids. These little creatures are absolutely under your care, and you will try your best to accommodate it in any way. When your pet is sick, you feel it as well, and it’s a constantly nagging pain that won’t go away until its revived to proper health. It’s difficult to concentrate at anything I am doing when I know our lovely little kitten is sick and unwell.

To be selfless in caring for another being whose well-being is totally dependent on you. I get it now.

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A wild Westy appears!

For the kitten

I get it now.

The enduring and unconditional love that people have for their pets is something I’ve finally come to experience for myself. Readers of this blog may know that our family adopted a two-year old kitten a few months back, and he’s simply been a tiny bundle of joy ever since. No matter how much of a bad day I’ve had, it instantly melts away as soon as I see our cat, him meowing back in greeting. How can I possibly stay in a bad mood when all he ever wants to do is lie on his back, begging me to scratch his tummy.

I totally get it now, why people get pets. I use to think I wouldn’t be a pet owner: why spend that money and time on raising an animal when raising an actual human baby (of my own, obviously) seems far more useful and rewarding. Your child would and should outlast you; meanwhile, a cat has an average of 15 years to live. I didn’t want to go through that anguish of falling in love with a being, only to lose him in such a relatively short amount of time.

As life would have it, I didn’t have to make the choice: it was my brother who adopted our kitten, and I’ve been thrust into the life of a pet owner through circumstances. After only two months, I’m really glad it happened that way. I deeply adore and love our little cat; some of the best times during this COVID-19 lockdown is feeding him and playing with him on the carpet. I’ve found that I don’t think or worry about the cat’s short lifespan at all; it’s so easy to stay in the moment when interactions are so pure and simple. It’s as if the anxiety burden of being human gets momentarily erased when I am playing with our cat.

A joy of the most natural kind.

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Capitalism everywhere.

The joy of pet

It’s been a little over a month since my family adopted a two-year old cat, and I have to say the experience thus far has been an absolute joy. It’s a special sort of feeling when I wake up in the morning, head downstairs for breakfast, and the cat is there to meow and greet me enthusiastically. It automatically makes all the mornings that extra bit happier and nicer, even if there’s a dreadful workday up ahead. In some ways it actually makes me want to get up from the bed, rather than laze around a little more scrolling through twitter.

Unlike a dog, the cat doesn’t ask for our attention constantly: it’s fully content just lying around here and there as we go about our daily business. I’d be working in front of the computer, and often times the cat would jump onto the loveseat to take a nap. Because we adopted a relatively older kitten (compared to one that’s just been born), it’s already domestically trained (and neutered!). We don’t have to worry about it going to the bathroom outside of the litter, and it knows where the food is being served, so long as we keep the bowls full of its favorite cat food (Purina One).

Whenever I get bored or am taking a break from things, it’s wonderful to have the cat there to play with. Our kitten loves to lie on its back, showing us its stomach so we can playfully scratch it. In true lazy cat fashion, it wants us to do all the work, while it just lie there not really moving anything. I can forgive it for that, because it sure beats having to take it outside periodically like we would if we had adopted a dog instead. Dog owners during this time of coronavirus quarantine must have it slightly tough.

We definitely should have gotten a cat way sooner; I’m looking forward to many more splendid years with our little mitten.

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