Life Living with a Cat Again

Now, let me start by saying that I don’t discriminate between cat versus dog. I’ve had both cats and dogs, as well as birds, fish and hamsters. I love all animals, it just happens that I currently live in a smaller apartment and a cat needed to be re-homed, so I was able to rescue him.

So, I currently have a small orange tabby boy named Fred. He’s about 9 pounds and is probably less than 2 years old. He’s definitely a small cat and was likely the runt of the litter. He’s definitely the cuddliest cat I’ve ever had, which is amazing and rare. 

Fred is the first cat that I’ve had in many years. My mom is allergic to cats but my grandma always had cats growing up, so I was able to keep some with her. I also had one as child named Chloe before my mom knew she was allergic. The current family pet is a little shih-tzu named Ginger (read more about life with her here!). She’s adorable and super sweet, but I missed having a kitty. I missed having a giant fuzzball to cuddle with and life is definitely different now that I have one again.

Having a cat is nice because they don’t eat as much as dogs, they don’t need to be walked, and they poop in a box. They give you love and attention when they want, but otherwise they’re pretty independent. I love that they’re independent because I’m a pretty independent person too. I like my alone time with just me – and my cat. Plus, it’s always nice to know that when he comes to cuddle, he’s choosing to be with me and only me. It’s like you’re being “blessed” with being their choice of human.

Having a younger cat, Fred can be a little rambunctious. He runs around at night with the zoomies and needs to be played with for as long as necessary in order for him to calm down. I typically use a little laser beam or one of those “fishing poles” with feathers at the end. Some nights he’s done playing in 5 minutes and other times we’ll play for 30 minutes. If I don’t play with him, he’ll do things like play with the curtains, chew on my plants or get into things he’s not supposed to. Sometimes I get tired of playing with him, but I know that it’ll let us both sleep better at night and it makes him happy.

Along with being a cat lady, I’m also a plant lady. I have many, many plants and they’re all indoor houseplants with Fred and I. For the most part, Fred’s pretty good with them. There are days, however, that I come home and he’s been digging in my larger plants and gets soil everywhere. Other times, he’ll chew off the tips of the leaves on many of my plants or try to pull down the vines on my trailing plants. Occasionally he’ll try to chew on one of my cactus. (I never set that he was particularly smart?) It’s a struggle but one I’ve learned to live with.

He’s very tolerant of my shenanigans.

Food! Some pet owners feed their pets twice a day. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough time in the morning so Fred gets fed once a day in the evening. He does get spoiled with half a can of wet food to go along with his dry food, so I think that he’s pretty happy. Fred also really loves black beans, garbanzo beans and corn, which I think is hilarious! He’s pretty good about reminding me when it’s time to feed him but he’s not obnoxious about it, which I appreciate. I’ve definitely had cats that will basically scream until they get fed.

Fred is definitely the cuddliest cat I’ve ever had. He loves hugs and kisses — like actual hugs and kisses on his face and neck. When I first got him, he used to always come and sit next to my legs and use them as a pillow. Now, he’s become a total lap cat and loves laying right in the middle of my lap, draping himself from one side to the other. He doesn’t get too offended if I move around a bit, but many other cats will move somewhere else. He’ll also crawl right up onto my chest and ask for hugs and kisses, which is super cute. I love when he asks for cuddles every evening.

Fred loves grooming me more than any other cat I’ve ever had. He licks my arms and legs most often, but he also licks my face. He doesn’t care if it’s my forehead, eyes/eyebrows, nose, cheeks or lips — he’ll sit there and lick my face if I let him. It’s very strange, but I know that it’s because he loves me. 

I live in a studio so Fred typically ends up sleeping in my bed with me nearly every night. He’ll come over and lay in between my legs or along my back. By morning he’s either still cuddling or gone somewhere to explore the apartment. Some mornings, like on weekends when I can sleep in a little later, Fred will come over and cuddle himself up on my chest in between my arms and sleep there with me hugging him. If I’m laying on my back, sometimes he’ll sit right on my chest, which of course wakes me up and is super annoying, but I know that it’s because he wants cuddles and attention. Recently, Fred has been waking me up in the early morning hours with kisses. I’ll feel his little whiskers and fur touch my skin and then his little tongue will gently lick my nose, cheek or lips. It’s weird, but also kind of cute.

I bought a harness for him, so hopefully I can get Fred to be an adventure cat with me as well. I want to teach him how to walk so we can go outside together, but we’ll see. I might write a future post about that experience with Fred. We’re also roadtripping to Arizona at Christmas, so we’ll see how that goes. (Wish me luck!)

Anyways, that’s my kitty and I love him so much. If you have a cat, can you relate to any of these things? Or, has this post helped convince you to get a cat? (I hope so!)

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Thank you for reading! Do you have a cat? Can you relate with what I’ve experienced with Fred? Or are you more of a dog person? Let me know in the comments below and like this post if you want more like it!

Xoxo’s

Emmalee

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