I owe a Massive Apology to Cat lovers.
I was always a dog person. Since I was a kid, my Grandma had two Pomeranians with whom we played a lot!
When my Grandma passed away, we got one of them to our place, but she died just after a few years. We assume that she died of heartbreak.
Ever since, I was in love with dogs. I would talk to them, pet them, love them and play with them. We got our dog when I was around ten, who lived with us till I turned 25!
So having known only dogs, whenever I heard someone talk about Cats the same way as I spoke of Dogs, it just didn’t add up for me.
Why and how could you love a cat? According to famous articles and videos, cats were selfish, rude, not attached to their human roomies, and do not love being petted.
It took me 30 years to realize that this was all a bunch of B.S. And here’s how:
Intending to adopt a dog, my partner and I visited multiple adoption centers and shelters in our area. But somehow, I ended up falling in love with two kittens. As soon as we saw them, we knew we wanted to bring them home.
Their foster roomie kept sending us their photos, videos and we kept preparing our home for their arrival. I gave away my favorite plants and essential oils to provide them with a safe home and didn’t even feel bad about it. I was in love with them!
But on the day of adoption, our Life took a drastic turn. Something had gone terribly wrong.
Without comprehending or even having time to digest the problem, we focused on the adoption and brought the kitties home. We instantly fell in love with them. As they purred their way into our hearts, in two days, my partner and I were head over heels.
But slowly, reality crept in. With the significant problems in hand, we could no longer do justice in providing the kitties with a happy, healthy, and stable environment for them to grow.
My partner and I looked at each other, and we knew then and there. We had to give them up.
We hugged each other and cried our hearts out. The kitties purred and meowed around us and didn’t make things easy.
Within two days, we had to return the kitties to their foster home. As they left our home, everything fell back into an eerie silence — no purring. No petting. No walking over our stomachs and chest while sleeping.
The kitties taught us that whatever we thought about Cats was so far from reality.
The cats gave us their love, affection, and company when we needed it the most. They helped us get through one of the most challenging days of our lives.
My partner and I are now almost sure that we will adopt cats in the future. As soon as we resolve our issues (and possibly move countries), we will be there for cats, dogs, cows, or any other animal that we can help as much as we can.
For every cat parent (or roomie) that I have insulted in the past, I am so so sorry. I didn’t know that this is what it meant to have a cat in our homes.
P.S. I wish Cats and Dogs could roam freely and live their lives as we humans do, but we humans have created an environment that doesn’t make it conducive for that to happen. Adoption is the only viable way (for now) to provide them with a safe, healthy environment for them to grow and thrive.
