International Cat Day — Letting the Cat out of the Bag
Celebrating my 10th Medium post with my cat
This is my 10th Medium story and what better way to celebrate it than that to introduce you to my cat Viking. And to ignore all the advice that as a writer here you need to find a niche and stick to it without changing your tone too much.
My other 9 Medium “lives” (pun intended) are poems about exploring my thoughts, fears and feelings, but I want to use the 10th for celebration.
So I am letting the cat out of the bag — I am not always gloomy and poetic, sometimes I am just girl excited to share the love she has for her cat, while treading the line of being accused of being “a cat lady”.
Since from what I have been seeing here, people seem to like lists, here is a list of why cats (and specifically mine) are worth celebrating:
Bravery
Owning a cat makes you brave in new and unexplored ways.
Around four years ago I had to be brave enough to ask (or rather make) my boyfriend to get a cat after living together for only a month.
Then I had to be even braver, when he actually agreed to that and I needed to accept the thought that we were actually going to take care of a living breathing thing.
Truth be told, I did grow up with lots of pets, but it was never me actively taking care of them. Being the second child in my family, I was usually the one receiving care and attention, not the one giving them.
I had many chances to be brave since we introduced Viking to our household — when he had to have eye surgery a couple of months after we got him on the day of the most important job interview in my life; when we first tried clipping his nails; when he first did that trick where he shows you his belly, but when you approach to pet it, your hand ends up in a trap of claws and teeth; when I created an Instagram account for him, which was my first attempt at writing for a public profile https://www.instagram.com/viking_the_maine_coon_stories/?hl=bg)and most recently when I decided to deviate from my poetic journey to share this publication.
Humility
Having a cat (and especially having my cat as illustrated above) can be a real bootcamp for teaching you not to take yourself too seriously and to also be able to give love without expecting something in return.
To be honest, both of these things do not come naturally to me, so the regular lessons of humility I have been getting, have really improved my communication with people as well.
Selflessness
As mentioned above, being a second child selflessness has never been my strong suit.
But I deeply believe that when you commit yourself to something, you need to do it 100%.
I have been to more vet medical check-ups than I have been to my own, I have sacrificed my sleep, limbs, personal space and furniture, I have cleaned all kinds of body fluids at the most inappropriate times and I have really learned to put someone else’s needs above mine even without him asking me to do it, and really for the most part not even deserving it. As illustrated by the picture above, you live by someone else’s schedule now.
My former boss was a dog person, and she used to say that having a dog teaches you to be loved, while having a cat teaches you how to love.
Home
As many other people, I left my childhood home at the age of 18 to go and study. I found a job right after that, and although I was building a career, I never quite got the warm feeling of “home” .
Until there was someone who will always be there when I go back. Someone who wants and needs me there ( although he doesn’t usually show it).
Home is where your cat is, so I guess it is true what they say about millenials treating their pets like their children.
There are surely more things to add to this list, but this is also its beauty — it’s ever growing and evolving. As is my love for my cat and his indifference to it.
I usually think that these international days of different things are made-up, but at the end of the day, why not have more causes for celebration and acknowledging the things that make us happy and fulfilled?
Happy international cat day — don’t be afraid to let the cat out of the bag about the things you love.
