How Cats Can Teach Humans to be Tougher

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Most people buy or adopt an animal because they want one or feel they need one in their lives and homes. Perhaps you have a cat because you have a problem with mice and thought it might help to have a feline friend in the house. Perhaps you are a dog owner with a canine companion simply because you felt the need to have an animal in the house that could protect you from danger. Perhaps you have a cat or dog because you are big-hearted person who just loves animals and you want to fill your heart with as many as you can. We don’t mind any of all of the above scenarios. In fact, we love the people who can and want to take care of a cat will take one in without any thought. Cats, in particular, are such good companions. They’re there for you and they’re always present. They aren’t so bothersome that you have to spend every waking moment ensuring that they are behaving or doing the right thing, but they’re sweet and loving. They love to spend time with you and they love to make it obvious to you that they’re there and that you are important to them.

Cats have a way of being excellent teachers, too. You might not realize it, but your cat has taught you a lot about life. And it will continue to do so even after it is no longer present on this earth. It’s just a simple and very obvious fact that cats have a way of making life more enjoyable and more amazing, and they make you tougher than you ever thought you could be. Let us tell you how your cat is making you tougher. The facts might just surprise you a bit.

You Learn to Let Go

Sometimes cats die. Okay, that is highly inaccurate. All cats die, but sometimes you will have to let go of an animal that means a lot to you. This is a way that you will become a little tougher. The loss of your beloved cat is going to hit you like a ton of bricks and make it impossible for you to understand what happened and why. Aging cats are less likely to make you feel angry about death. Cats that get sick or are injured in an accident and lose their lives are more likely to make you angry; it was too soon, too early and too unexpected for your taste. It happens and it just isn’t pretty in the least.

You Learn to Face Tough Situations

Cats can make you a little crazy sometimes. You have to make decisions that you might not otherwise make if you have a cat that goes through something tough and difficult. For example, your cat might be injured to the point that you have to decide whether or not to let the cat go. Your cat might seem sick and you have to figure out if it needs to go to the vet. Your cat might get lost and leave you wondering if you will ever see your beloved friend again. Tough situations happen when you love, and it’s just a teaching process.

You Learn to Devalue Others Thoughts

Some people are just rude and insensitive, and they never have anything nice to say. There is nothing wrong with having a cat, but there is always someone happy to make you feel this way. For example, someone might think that having one cat is fine, but more than that is too much. They might make fun of you or give you a hard time. They might try to make you feel bad about having a cat and not a dog since some dog owners can be insensitive, too. The good news is that this is going to help you learn to stop caring so much about what other people think. It’s a positive thing when you look at it from that light. You’ll become more confident and less caring as to the opinions of others, and that always helps.

You Learn to Face Your Fears

Cats are scary. They’re not scary in that you will worry they’ll attack you, but you will have to face some fears with a cat. If yours gets outside and encounters a large dog, a snake or some other dangerous creature, you might watch in fear as your cat is attacked by something that could kill it. You have to then figure out what to do in a split second. When the dog we adopted two days before Christmas picked our cat up in her mouth and began attacking and shaking him across the house, I had to make a split second decision and face a fear; a dog that’s attacking. I had to save the cat because my kids were standing right there. It was terrifying. But I did it.

You Learn to Stay Strong

When the dog ate the cat, the cat was not expected to live. After being strong for my kids and pretending that cat was hiding because he was scared, I rushed him to the vet and was told the cat would die. They sent him home with us to die in peace with someone around, and we expected the worst. We stayed strong for the kids even though they knew something was wrong. The cat’s lungs were collapsed, its liver damaged and it was in severe shock. It’s been four months and the cat is alive, healthy and fine. We had to stay strong enough to administer heavy doses of medication each and every day for weeks, to keep a brave face each morning when it was time to check on the cat. We just knew we’d wake up and it would be dead, and that kind of strength it takes to know that and wonder how to tell your kids who have had this cat since it was a kitten is tough. It was taxing and stressful, but we were able to do it, and that’s because we learned how to be tough thanks to our cat.

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