You’ve cat to me kitten me right meow…pretty much my first thoughts when Heidi initially brought up getting a cat. About a year ago now we were debating between adopting a puppy or getting a kitten. After seeing some of our friends struggle significantly with a puppy and knowing we would be living in a smaller apartment while doing a lot of travel, we felt like our only option was to get a kitten or another fish. The more I thought about it the crazier it seemed that after only having dogs for 25 years that we were discussing all of the benefits to owning a kitten. It ended up that we started our hunt when it wasn’t kitten season (didn’t even know that was a thing). However with Heidi getting ready to have 7 weeks in Texas it was by far the best time for us to attempt this co-habitation with another species. After getting talked into adopting 2 kittens, one with one eye, our family of 2 doubled and we had 2 little 2 month old kittens in the apartment. We learned that listening to the crazy cat ladies we bought them from turned out to be the best move. The two kittens weren’t from the same litter but both had interacted with cats and people before. That being said, I didn’t have any idea how much work little tazo and polly were going to be. Going from a lifestyle of living with 3 other guys in a rental house in PT school to living in an apartment with Heidi and now two cats was a major change! Prior to Heidi coming down I was sleeping on an air mattress, using lawn chairs, as furniture, and only had myself to care for…now all of that had changed. In our first couple weeks the girls (our loving name for Tazo and Polly) ended up developing ring worm. Heidi cried, I got confused, we ended up going to the vet several times and we learned that these two little animals fully relied on us for their well-being. For those that have had cats or dogs with ringworm, I am sure you can second it not being a fun thing to deal with. After working a full day, 3x/week we had to bathe both kittens and apply topical medication nightly. We thought we were getting these kittens because they would be less maintenance but man did they turn into a bit of a headache for about 2 months. I was getting a little frustrated at this point because we were clueless and these little fluffballs kept getting sick. Polly with her one eye proved to be the more resilient one as after the ringworm cleared up she hasn’t had any issues. However, her sister Tazo apparently had allergies to something in Texas that caused her to develop a sneeze and eye drainage….for cats neither of those are super good things. Eventually though after some eye drops and oral medication everything cleared up and now it was just time to train the girls. Both respond fairly well to treats so training wasn’t too difficult actually. We used a clicker and treats per all of the internet blogs about being awesome cat parents and taught Tazo to sit on command while Polly does a trick where she jumps on her scratch post and will give you a kiss….and from that point on they were just too adorable! While there were some interesting times with these two, they have taught me so much about patience, communication with Heidi, and the art of napping. At times it is super hard to not get frustrated when one of the girls does something stupid and nearly breaks something. However, now the girls are free roaming the apartment and turning into the perfect little cats we always wanted them to be. Going from a decent amount of apprehension about getting a cat to the love that I have for both of them now is crazy. We officially have become crazy cat parents. I know this because each night we still kiss the girls good night and place them in their cat tree. All of the human contact though has turned our two kittens into the epitome of chill cats. By force cuddling them when they were little, we are now able to just pick them up and they know a round of cuddles are coming and they just accept it. If you would have told me a year ago that I would have two kittens I would have thought you likely to be incorrect. Also, if you would have told me that I would be writing a blog about two little angels that make waking up in the morning and coming home from work that much more enjoyable I would have been a major skeptic. Prior to owning cats myself, I always just thought of cats as pets that made your house stink with litter boxes and would scratch you if you got too close. Luckily that is just not the case with our girls. After that blog I just want to say either sorry…or you’re welcome for a little insight into the life of a cat parent. Thanks for checking out the blog this month and I promise to keep the proud cat parent posts to a minimum. Until next time! As always feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns and never hesitate to send me a message if you need a person to talk to.
1 Comment
Carol
9/16/2019 09:46:42 pm
Trace this was such a fun read!
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AuthorI am a new graduate DPT and am interested in personal growth and becoming a connector within my profession.
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