Lessons from My Kitty

My last update, while perhaps necessary, was a bit mundane. Just a typical update.
And my readers deserve better than that. Moreover, my new kitty deserves more blog time than a small paragraph. So now, in list fashion (the best there is), here are lessons I have learned from my kitty:

1. Be flexible.
We wanted a dog. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted a dog. That's all I talked about all my life. Everybody knew that about me. I poured my heart into every dog I came across and got excited when I saw pups on TV commercials. I even read several dog books to prepare for the day I would FINALLY get my dog. So when we did finally move into an apartment that allows pets, imagine my surprise when the pet we take home is a kitty. You'll see it's a great decision.

2. Relax.
I have had four days off work (including weekends) with the kitty and those have been lessons in cat life. I remember learning that lions sleep 20 hours a day, and now I see how kittens and lions are related. My kitty will wake up only to reposition herself and fall back asleep. How inspiring. Hours and hours go by, and she is still napping. I am going to try that on my next day off.

3. Explore.
She is, without a doubt, a curious kitten. She will explore every corner of this place, including inside every closet, box and bag we have. Which is quite a lot, considering there are still several boxes throughout the apartment. She is not satisfied with all that she has found; she must find out more. She must keep exploring, keep searching, keep trying to figure things out around here.

4. We need each other.
They say cats are lone creatures; they don't need humans. I beg to differ. The first thing my kitty does when we get home and let her out is run to our feet and "meow" until we pick her up and give her a kiss. If we ever stay out too long, when we return, she cuddles with us for hours. She will follow us around wherever we go. And I can't say just how much I need her. She lights up my life.

5. Be Creative.
My kitty can find a toy out of anything. She can also find a bed out of anything. She doesn't care what something's original purpose is - she will create a new purpose. I insist on not spending money on fancy toys and beds when she's perfectly willing to make a piece of paper a toy and a plastic bag a bed.

6. Play Hard.
I mention that she loves to sleep and cuddle, but she also loves to play. a lot. even when we don't. But that's ok with her, because she can play by herself. She will run and jump and chase and scratch and pounce all to her heart's content. We don't have to worry about overfeeding her because she burns off hundreds of calories every day, even with all that sleeping.

7. Use your strengths.
Our kitten can be sooo dumb. She runs into herself in the mirror and chases her own tail. She likes to run so fast in front of your feet you can't help but step on her. She gets herself in between the couch and the couch cover constantly. But, she can also devise a way to climb up cabinets to get to the kitchen counter by doing it at the corner. She can navigate through the obstacle course of our moving boxes in a nanosecond. She can jump up and down from most places in our house. She's found her intelligence and uses it.

8. Be cute.
Let's face it - she gets away with a lot more than she should. But we can't help but love her because she is absolutely adorable. She has the most beautiful combination of black and white, with subtle stripes that make me think she's part-tiger. She has gorgeous white whiskers and the cutest boot paws. And her eyes are engaging. Even when she does something silly, she's hilariously lovable.

9. Be responsible.
I really thought a kitten would be much less work than a puppy, and in many ways that's very much true. However, they still are a considerable amount of work and require responsibility that I'm quickly learning. I can no longer leave my dishes out when I'm done eating, or leave things laying around the house. I need to check on her food, water, litter box, etc. I need to check her physically for mites, sores, signs of trouble, etc.

10. Love food.
She loves food - all food. She doesn't care if it's mine and not hers. She doesn't care if it's good for her or not. She doesn't even care that she's full on cat food. She will try every attempt to eat whatever food is available to her. I can't say that I blame her.