FUR THE WIN: STEF DELA CRUZ, MD

writes about how she transitioned from dog lover to dog and cat lover

For thirty long years, I was a dog person. I grew up with dogs accompanying me to and from my piano classes. I grew quite familiar with dogs’ begging tactics come dinnertime—they always tried to guilt me into sneaking them a few bites, thanks to their effective puppy-dog faces. I loved dogs so much that I became closer to canine friends than to human ones. As an introvert with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), I found it so much easier to befriend dogs than kids my age.

All that changed when seven years ago, a grumpy cat purred its way into my dog-dominated life. Just like that, I became a “cat convert.” I had an epiphany: Because I loved dogs, loving cats somehow came naturally.

Wait, what? Is it really natural for dog lovers to become cat people?

Before you shake your head in disagreement, let me share with you a few things I learned in the past seven

ALL IT TAKES IS ONE CAT. When this black cat named Merlin came into Stef’s life, he made her realize that she loved cats despite her being a self-professed dog person.