28 April 2020, 4:23 pm - In Which I Consider Giving Away My Cats

The title is mostly sarcastic… mostly.

I don’t have kids. I don’t want kids. We have cats, who are arguably as needy as kids. I know I’ve mentioned them in previous posts.

They are driving. us. crazy. Two of our cats, Leo and Hazel, are four years old and at an age where they need a lot of interaction. Luckily, we are home all the time to give them that interaction. Right? Wrong. Our constant presence is making them irritated. Leo, who has never gone outside except in a carrier, is actively trying to escape the house, probably just to get away from us. Hazel, who is leash trained, encourages him by joining in on the constant meowing in doorknob-jingling.

To appease the monsters cats, we have started to take Hazel and Leo outside in turns. This helps them get rid of some energy and chill out a bit once they’re inside. Cammie, our eldest cat, loves our constant presence and the additional attention. She does not get on our nerves.

See: Why your pet is acting like a weirdo during quarantine, explained by animal behaviorists

I keep reminding myself that these creatures only exist in this space because we have taken them in. That makes it sound very generous. Let me re-word that. People took these beings from their mothers at young ages and put them up for adoption, and we adopted them to reduce their chances of living in unfortunate places, like the animal shelter or abandoned in a barn. We tried for so long to keep them as indoor-only cats, but that is just not their nature, especially as they get older and mature and have natural instincts that arise. We are cautious, though, by taking them out on leashes. We do this for their safety (we live near a very busy road and both neighbors have aggressive dogs) and for the wildlife’s safety.

See: When house cats are free to roam, wildlife suffers, study says

I must remind myself that the cats are just as anxious by all of this as us. I joke by calling them monsters, and complaining about their behaviors, but I don’t mean any of it. We chose to adopt them, and we must treat them as family members and as the living creatures with souls that they are. Even if that means giving in to their constant meowing and taking them outside.