Cat Life- Day Thirteen.

We had animals growing up, three dogs and a cat, and I loved growing up with them. But they were just that: animals. I was never taught, or maybe I was just too young, to think of them as part of the family, or a whole entity with a personality.

Then Puff came in to my life. Puff is the greatest cat who will ever live. She is more than part of my family, she is part of who I am. When I'm not home I think about her. When I go shopping I try to bring something home for her. Sometimes Tommy chastises me for staring at Puff instead of being productive. I want to spend all of my time at home with Puff. But can you blame me?!

Most weekends I drag Tommy to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue to look at cats. On Friday I was there by myself in the thought that if I got it out of my system this week, Tommy and I wouldn't have to go on Saturday (and Sunday). But then I met Chester. A five month old fluffy dream boat who I took Tommy to meet today. We stood in the cat room while Chester purred into my neck. Tommy aways says 'no' to adopting animals, but today he was pretty close to yes. We're going to go back tomorrow and see Chester again.

These days I see animals as a family member. A forever friend. Adopting an animal isn't something to go into lightly. Animals are not returnable once they have served their purpose for you. Puff isn't perfect. At five a.m. each day she likes to come in the bedroom and knock everything over. She knocks stuff off the counter if her bowl is empty. She has scratched nice leather furniture to pieces. Yet there is nothing in the world that could make me give her up.

My cat has her own Instagram. I started it as a place to post the pictures I was constantly taking of her. I didn't anticipate many would follow, but it turns out that every time I post a picture I gain 10-15 followers, today I passed 1,000. I never expected to find a whole community of cats on Instagram, people who are passionate about their animals and finding forever homes for other cats. (You can see Puff's Instagram HERE)

There is a certain negative connotation that associates the term "cat lady." One would picture a lady with an overabundance of cats and a lack of social contact. But I would argue that this is a misconception. Sure, there are people who are more obsessed with their animals (me), but my identity as a cat lady is found in more than just Puff. It's about wanting every animal to be in an environment to be loved and cared for. Tristinn mentioned a few days ago issues that get people fired up and passionate, and for me this is one of those issues. No-kill shelters, stopping declawing, keeping cats inside, not chaining up dogs, and not seeing animals as disposable.

I can't adopt all the cats in the world, but I can do my best to care for the one I have and encourage others to do the same.