Growing up I loved dogs, I was obsessed with puppies of all shapes and sizes. Something about their endless energy and freely given affection drew me to them. I loved that they could be trained so well that it was essentially like they understood people. Plus, they’re loyal to a fault. So, of course, I dreamed of having a dog of my own someday. My parents tried desperately to change my mind, even trying to tempt me with the promise of two kittens instead of just one puppy. But I was only interested in man’s best friend, the classic canine.
For years I’ve been a dog person through and through. (And I don’t regret it, I still love my dog with all of my heart.) But since coming to college, I haven’t been able to see my own dog every day. Instead, the pet I do get to interact with every day is my roommate’s cat.
Now, I do not know the first thing about cats. When my roommate’s cat would wander into my room the first few days after moving in it would be an awkward stare-off as she sat next to me or meowed seemingly without reason while I tried my best to ignore her. And while I find cats cute, I also know from personal experience that they can do some real damage with those needle-sharp claws. As a person who rarely gets to interact with friendly cats, I decided that I should embrace this opportunity… mainly because I miss my dog, but also to try something new.
Honestly, the first thing I had to do was google how to handle and pet cats because they’re much smaller and more fragile than the dogs I’m accustomed to dealing with. It took weeks of cautious interaction to truly feel comfortable with my roommate’s cat. However, life is much more pleasant now that this cat has decided that she sort of likes me. I’ll wake up to gentle meowing outside my bedroom door and one cute fluffy paw reaching underneath to wave hello, I’m greeted at the front door with excitement and affection, and I now have the most adorable study buddy. I’ve gone from not being aware that cats did anything other than hiss and stalk to immediately trying to befriend every cat I see.
I can’t believe I lived my life before this thinking cats were annoying and evil. But, the truth is that cats just didn’t care about me because I didn’t care about them, which is why I thought every cat I met was just not people-oriented. The fact that I’ve been friendly and kind to my roommate’s cat had gotten me to think that maybe I can be a cat-person. Maybe I’ll even get a kitten of my own someday in the future.
There’s just something heartwarming about the way a cat will gently headbutt your shins, flop down in front of you, and innocently beg for your affection like it’s the only thing in the world that matters that has made me realize that cats are precious, and just as great (if not slightly better) as dogs.