National Cat Day

My sister is probably rolling her eyes right now about this... but I was just informed that today is National Cat Day and I can't not acknowledge that. I was planning on eventually doing a post about pets, but today seems like an appropriate time to do so. Pet therapy is something that can be beneficial to people of all ages with varying illnesses. I have a relative that takes their dog to a local nursing home to visit the elderly, and my friend's husband is considering getting a service dog to help him with his PTSD/Depression. Animals are incredibly intuitive. I like (some) dogs and maybe someday I will have one, but right now, I tend to be more of a cat person. I love German Shepherds, but growing up, we didn't have pets so I wasn't able to convince my parents to go from the no pet rule to allowing a huge dog in the house. The only reason they did end up allowing pets was when Jess just brought a cat home one day. And then a few months later, she brought home a 2nd cat (leave it to the middle child to just start bringing cats home).

Today I will talk about my 1st cat, Martin, and I'll devote another blog post to crazy kitty #2. Sorry to other cat owners out there, but I pretty much have the coolest & cutest cat ever. He even won a cutest pet photo contest in the local newspaper. Multiple people who say they aren't cat people have met Martin and said "OK I don't usually like cats, but he's cool." He is basically the grey tiger striped version of Garfield, except Garfield's owner is a loser and Martin's owner is super cool! (Right??) And come to think of it, there have been a few times that Martin has tried to ship Beamer to Abu Dhabi.

I got Martin from an organization called PAWS that had their animals available for adoption at the local PetSmart (adopt, don't shop!). Martin was in the bottom row of cages and looked up at me with what I call the "Puss in Boots face". He was SO cute and I just had to have him! At the time, I was in college and lived on campus. The only time I was home was for holidays and breaks so my parents would need to take care of Martin while I wasn't around. Since there were already 2 cats at their house courtesy of Jess, I was able to convince them to let me get Martin and ever since he's been my sweet little mama's boy (but don't tell him I told you that- he has an image to maintain). When I was away at school, my mom said whenever she talked to me on the phone, he always came over to her because he could hear my voice. While he is affectionate, he will let me know if he's upset about something. He also is very good at reading people. For example, there was a guy who I dated for way too long and on 3 separate occasions, Martin peed on his clean laundry. Martin knew this guy was a jerk long before I figured it out.

On a serious note though, I am so grateful to have him. He knows when I am upset and he has faithfully been there with me through the toughest moments of my life. My friends and family continue to be an amazing support system, but at the end of the day, I still have to be alone and deal with my feelings and emotions. At those times, Martin is snuggled up next to me or laying close by. I know my sister thinks I'm a crazy cat lady (and maybe I am!) but having Martin around has been a huge comfort for me and I know that it has a positive effect on my mental health. I hope that all of you have a furry friend or two that is a loving & devoted companion.

Happy National Cat Day!