The power of pets
WHILE LIVES HAVE SHIFTED OVER THE PAST YEAR, FOR KATIE ANTONIOU, IT WAS WELCOMING A NEW PET INTO HER HOME THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST MEANINGFUL CHANGES OF ALL
If there ever were a year for reflection, it was undoubtedly 2020. We’ve all had time to re-evaluate our lives, our priorities, our coping mechanisms and our dreams for the future. For my family, it was the year we discovered that we are cat people.
I’ve always liked cats just fine, but never had my own and it seems that having a pet is similar to having children in that you can be not that bothered about other people’s, then completely besotted with your own.
As soon as we realised that our daughter was going to be an only child, we knew we would get a pet. We were waiting for her to be old enough and there was no urgency as her days were full of preschool and playdates. Then quarantine hit and we swiftly recognised that we did not have the capacity to entertain a five-year-old all day, every day. We needed back-up. My husband was
“There is nothing purer than the love of a grumpy dad for a pet he said he didn’t want” “I was not prepared for the little hole in my heart that our kitten filled”
unconvinced – not a fan of animals, he generally believes Nature should be kept outdoors. But even though I was anxious about the extra responsibility, I knew it was the right timing and just had a gut feeling that this tiny creature would complete our little family.
And she did. We picked up Moppet from a rescue centre and explained to our daughter that she was one of us now. We referred to her as her ‘sister’ jokingly, but it quickly became clear that this was to be precisely the nature of their relationship. This scrappy grey ball of fluff immediately worked out the pecking order in our household, play-fighting with our daughter during the day but keeping her company at the foot of her bed if she woke during the night. I hadn’t dared hope for a cat with such a lovely temperament; she won over my husband with licks and snuggles almost at once. It’s true that there is nothing purer than the love of a grumpy dad for a pet he said he didn’t want.
Our decision not to have another child was a difficult one, caused largely by medical issues on my part. We knew it was the right choice, but it was not made without sadness. I knew I would love our pet, but I was not prepared for the little hole in my heart that our kitten filled. It was a completely new kind of love; I thought I didn’t have any new emotions left to discover but this was different. Naming her, watching all her ‘firsts,’ letting her nap under my chin on the sofa late at night when everyone else was in bed; it was a bonding experience I hadn’t imagined I’d feel again after having my daughter. At first, I even felt guilty that I loved her so much, that it was so easy and painless to love her while with my daughter I had initially struggled with pain, anxiety and sleeplessness. But it was a delightful surprise to discover I could find new love without having to compromise my mental health. Indeed, having cats – and dogs – as pets are known for being excellent for our minds, and I truly think that having Moppet’s funny little face in our home through months of unbroken time together has kept us laughing, and comforted us when we needed it most.
Obviously, I am not alone in this realisation. Another joy has been suddenly finding myself in a worldwide club. I found shared happiness in the pictures of people’s pets online, where cats appear to rule as supremely as they did in Ancient Egypt. In fact, I’ve seen people embracing everything from dogs to guinea pigs as emotional support during this incredibly challenging time – we all have to find the pet that suits our situation and means; they’re for life, not just for quarantine. Mopsy, as we came to call her, took over our house, where the initial rules were ‘not allowed in the office or our bedroom’, but quickly became ‘not allowed on the table’ and is now just ‘not allowed on the table while we’re eating.’
While we initially kept a close eye on her and my daughter, she soon grew big enough to hold her own, patiently tolerating being cradled like a baby then hauled over one shoulder as she got bigger and bigger. We’ve loved spotting her every uniqueness: her one white whisker, the kink in the end of her tail, her grey eyes gradually turning golden. She is already becoming a ‘teenager,’ she’d rather sit next to us than on us, and she’s bravely scaling new heights; she tried to jump into the fridge yesterday as I stood in default quarantine pose, with the door wide open. I find myself roasting a whole chicken just for her, finding her love languages, giving her attention when it’s just us two, late at night. The comforting weight of her is better than any blanket, her purring the ideal white noise. She is Nature’s own little anti-stress device, and she couldn’t have come at a better time.