I’ve hard a cat for a pet for a while now. Often times when some of my friends come around they ask me what it’s like living with a cat. What most of them think that it’s all about is how cute they are when they fold themselves on your lap because that’s one of the things they see them do most of the time. But if they were to stay under the same roof with one they’ll find out that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s actually a lot funnier than they could think, because if should only go with the videos they see online about cats and conclude on that, then they might be fooled.
When I decided to have a cat, I didn’t know what I had done was to open my apartment to a tiny roommate who thinks they it own the whole place. It was like I had indirectly told it “take charge from now on.” I mean, they don’t pay a single dime for rent, not to mention how they spend half the time staring at you like you have committed an offence. But somehow, they still end up being the center of your whole world.
Before I got my cat, Zara, I usually had this mental picture of cats being calm, the type of pet that most of the times you’d find sitting by the window and staring outside, and sleeping peacefully for at least twenty hours day. The type that will give you little or no stress at all. That was my default thinking. Maybe that seemed like the experience at first.
Then gradually their true nature begins to unfold.
Suddenly, you find yourself waking up around 3:15 AM just because that creature decided run sprint across the hallway like an athlete racing the tracks, attacking objects that you’re not seeing, mounting on anything it can climb and then land right on your chest.
You know begin to think to yourself, “Maybe I don’t own this house after all.” It’s as though you’re the one who is the roommate. They have this habit of drinking directly from the tap instead of making use of the water fountain which you spent money buying for them. I still remember the cat tree I spent good money on to build for my cat, only for it to get completely ignored. What it rather prefers is to sit in the empty cardboard box it came in. Crazy fella, I tell you. I can’t even lock the bathroom door because if I do, the next thing I’ll see is a tiny paw sliding under the little opening beneath, and while it struggles to make its way in you hear it make these loud meows that makes you want to cover both of your ears.
When some of my friends come around and try to play with my cat but it seems not to give them attention they feel that the cat is no fun or maybe for some reason doesn’t just like them. But that’s not really true. You see, the thing about cats that people —especially those who don’t own them — may not really understand is that they are not the type to give their affection freely. This means you have to really work for it. It’s like a lady playing hard get, if you know what I mean.
They are unlike dogs who get excited and wag their tails around almost anybody even though they may just be seeing them for the first time. I remember a friend of mine I usually visited who had a dog. I tried stroking the hairs on his back and I was a bit skeptical of whether it would allow me. But surprisingly, the dog was very receptive and cooperative. Even when I stopped stroking it I notice it would race its head up and look at me like “why did you stop?” But in the case of a cat, every bit of their attention that you manage to get must be earned. Sometimes they will just sit at the room and stare at me, blink at me slowly, and within me I’ll begin to feel like I have accomplished something huge.
Cats are not the ones to be known for faking their moods. But when your cat finally decides to walk up to you, give you that slow blink, and lean their whole body against your leg, it feels like real approval. They’ll hop onto your desk right when you’re trying to type, lay across the keyboard, and demand you scratch their chin. You end up typing with one hand around them because moving them feels like a crime.
You even catch yourself having full conversations with them. You ask why they’re staring at an empty corner of the wall, and when they reply with a soft meow, you just pretend you both had a meaningful discussion.
Living with a cat means getting comfortable with a bit of daily madness.Your clothes will almost always have fur on them, no matter how many lint rollers you keep around. You get used to scanning the floor before stepping down from bed at night so you don't step on dropped hairballs or small plastic toys. You’ll even watch them walk up to a pen on the table, knock it off on purpose while staring right at you, and do it again.
They’ll push your buttons, scratch up the side of the couch you specifically wanted them to leave alone, and treat your bedtime like peak playtime.
Yet, the moment they curl up into a small ball at the foot of your bed, purring hard enough that you can feel it through the blanket, you forget all of it.
So, what is it really like living with one?
It means knowing the faint sound of a food can opening will bring them running from a deep sleep three rooms away. It means staying frozen in an awkward position for nearly an hour just so you don't wake them up while they sleep on your legs.
Ultimately, it’s about sharing your home with a creature that is completely independent, very strange, and loving in its own unique way. A house without a cat might be clean and quiet, but having one around keeps things constantly entertaining. Once you get used to that quiet, funny companionship, a home without them just feels a bit too empty.
THANKS FOR READING!”
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