Lessons I learned upon becoming a “Cat Mom”

I grew up around cats. In our house, we always had at least one animal – cats, a dog, hamsters, fish... But what I have learned over the last month of owning a cat in a one-bedroom apartment is that growing up around animals and owning one for yourself are two very different things. First among them is that personal space is at a premium. Second is that, even though I grew up with animals, and occasionally took care of them, I was not totally prepared for what it would be like to be a cat mom.

About two months ago, I moved to a one-bedroom apartment, after living with a  roommate and having plenty of space after said roommate moved on. I don’t regret my choice; on the contrary, it was definitely time for me to move, even if other people think I made a mistake. This was the right choice, for me. I moved to this place with the express intention of adopting a cat when I got back from my vacation. So, about a month ago, I took a trip to the anti-cruelty society downtown and adopted a ten-year-old cat who I have since named Julius.

His picture is somewhere around here.

Julius took to his new surroundings with an alacrity that can only be attributed to a cat who is used to being in charge. He might have been worried about food and water for a few hours, since I wasn’t 100% prepared to bring a cat home when I adopted him; but after about a day, we got ourselves sorted out. Like I said, it was very clear who was in charge. He basically decided he was king before he even got out of the carrier.

Previous to adopting Julius, I have only personally owned a fish, so I was pretty nervous about adopting a cat. It's a big step, for sure, and I didn't know if I was ready for that kind of commitment. This fish, Odysseus (yes, I like ancient poetic heroes, why do you ask?), was a point of interest to Julius, but not for a few days. When he finally noticed the fish, he would sit on the coffee table and watch him. I was worried that he would try to eat Odysseus, but it turns out I did not need to worry about that. Julius was really only interested in the water in the fishbowl…as far as I know.

Moved the fish next to the cactus; problem solved.

Prior to living on my own, our family owned at least six cats (at least when I was around – and never more than three at one time), too many hamsters, and a few other animals that don’t need to be mentioned here. What I didn’t really realize prior to Julius was that growing up around pets and owning my own pet were two very different things. It is one thing for a family to own a couple cats in a large, five-bedroom house. If I wanted, I could close my door and keep the cats out. I didn’t have to take care of it all the time, respond to it all the time, or generally have to be around it all the time. My parents generally took care of the worst parts (litter boxes and things) while feeding was a pretty simple task. I realized that I didn't know what kinds of brands to buy, how big the litter box needed to be, and other things that I had simply taken for granted.

I don’t mind cleaning up after Julius – in fact, I mentally prepared myself for it – but I understand why some people don’t like to own pets for that reason. We always kept those things out of the way or in places where people don't generally find themselves when they're visiting. In a small place like this, I struggled for a few days trying to find the right places to put things so that we both had enough personal space.

One thing I didn’t really take into account was the effect the amount of space I had would have on just how much cat hair I would have to deal with. It really is simple – cats only shed so much. In a smaller space, it is bound to be more concentrated. But I grew up in a large, air-conditioned house. Yes, there was cat hair everywhere, but it wasn’t like this. In a one-bedroom with only a single AC unit, the cat hair problem just feels worse. It sticks to everything; little tufts suddenly appear when I turn on the AC; even touching the cat is a hazard, leaving cat hair on practically every surface. He’s a long-haired cat – I knew what I thought I was getting myself into – but the hair is so fine, I find it everywhere.

Space is an issue in other ways as well. I don’t have room to run around if I want to play with him (even though the laser pointer is cool, he prefers string of some kind…). I can’t just run around in circles like no one lives in my building. He loves to play, but the space is definitely a deterrent. I also didn’t take into account the kind of care he would require. From more expensive food, to potentially having to get his teeth cleaned (I mean, I don't even go the dentist as often as they say you should).I am perfectly willing to put up with a hot or cold apartment to save money. But having an animal that can’t do anything to control his body temperature has made it hard to justify saving money over our comfort. He loves it when I open the fridge because it’s probably the coldest air he’ll feel until December. It makes me feel bad that I don’t have better AC.

All of this could be misconstrued, however, as complaining. While some of it is, it’s really a reflection on the things that I have learned. I love my cat. I love having a cat. I like being interrupted by something other than Facebook when I’m working from home. He makes me take time out of my day to appreciate simple things. He’s obnoxious, sure. He talks more than I did when I was a kid (and if you ask anyone who knew me, they liked to say I was a chatterbox back then). He’s worse than an alarm clock some mornings. He can be gross. But he is sweet – he always wants to be where I am and loves being scratched under his chin. Sometimes he tries to sharpen his claws on my rug and I catch myself using words my parents used when they reprimanded our cats when I was growing up. It always makes me smile, even if I'm mad at him for knocking over my flowers.

Even though pets are like children who never grow up, who never learn, we still love them. There’s just something about them that we can’t resist (Well, some of us).

I am really glad, after all of that, that I decided to adopt a Julius.