My Cats Are My Role Models

As we live, we always look toward examples and role models to “copy” from to believe we’re doing it all right and we can be successful. This can be a celebrity, a family member, anyone that you think is good to follow in their footsteps. However, as a pet owner, I think those of us who have animals in the family already have a perfect role model to go off of in life.

As examples, allow me to introduce to you my two role models: Nova and Klein. And before you start sounding the alarm of a crazy cat lady in the vicinity, at least learn of their stories and hear me out as to why I would consider them role models. I will tell each of their stories first and then get to my explanation.

Nova

Adopted in July 2015 at two-months-old and separated from her sibling, Nova came into our family and as a new sibling for a retired outdoor cat named Codi, who was ten-years-old. It took a lot of patience for the two to get along, but over time, Codi took on the role of a mother to the playful little kitten. They had their differences and gripes like typical siblings, but all was happily well as the year continued to progress.

Until Codi suddenly got ill with pneumonia in April. And with the additional discovery of her lifelong anemia, not eating or drinking, and being constipated, there was nothing we could do but let her pass.

It was an utterly heartbreaking experience for many reasons. I had already been with Codi for ten years, and my husband grew to have a loving and special bond with Codi after his suggestion to take her in when we first moved in together. To have her suddenly pass was a difficult loss for both of us.

Then there was Nova.

Not only was Nova to share the same birthday with Codi, as they were born at the same time of the year, but she turned one-year-old with the experience of loss and grief toward her new mother-figure. After reflecting on the whole situation afterward, it was obvious she had also known from the beginning what was happening. While my husband and I desperately visited the vet throughout Codi’s last week to find some good news and progress on her health, Nova already knew it was Codi’s final moments and began her coping process well before we did.

Thus, when Codi passed away, our little kitten was a trooper. Even though she was obviously mourning, she was better at comforting us than we were to her. The healing process was there, but there was the uncanny and silent agreement that the three of us would never be the same.

So we allowed time to start doing its thing and mend wounds.

Klein

Two months later and June of 2015 arrived with a message from my best friend about a kitten in need. He was orange with green eyes just like Codi, and so we humored the funny feeling of coincidence and my friend’s words of it being “fate.” That wasn’t all, however.

Klein and his litter of siblings were left on the doorstep of my friend’s veterinary clinic. All of them had worms, and after immense treatment, only he survived.

When my friend sent me a photo of him and asked if we might be ready to take in another cat, there was absolutely no way we could refuse, despite our hesitation and recent heartbreak over Codi. The most memorable part of that event, and what really tugged at our heartstrings, was how Klein was so visibly sad in the photo. He knew life had been cruel, and he was sick and lost everything. That look of utter depression was just as present when he was dropped off at our home, officially rescued at two months of age.

The next week of introducing Nova and Klein was unlike anything else. Sure, there was some hissing here or there, but it was the quickest I had ever seen two animals get along. When my husband and I decided not to intervene in the acclimation process and just let the two of them know each other at their own pace, it was practically effortless.

Now, Nova and Klein found a new relationship as siblings in each other, helping one another heal from their sorrow and experiences, and bringing out the best, most playful, and happy selves. We all just knew that the timing of these instances was somehow in line with each other. Now Klein’s eyes are also golden, just like Nova’s, and he is no longer visibly sad or frail. In fact, he is now the happiest chonker, while Nova is your classic princess with sass.

Methods of Mindfulness & Life

Now that I tugged at all the heartstrings, including my own, let’s understand why I treat my pets as role models and why pets and animals are really the best ones to look up to.

It boils down to two things. One point was to show you that life can be hard for everyone, including pets and animals. I didn’t want you first to read my explanation of my two cats as masters at “living life” and respond with an “Of course they can easily ‘journey happily through life.’ They’re cats and have it easy.”

Wrong. Despite their backstories, they bounced back; and we humans are perfectly capable of doing the same.

My second and largest point is that Nova and Klein, like all animals, are mindful and also don’t have many “priorities” as we humans like to focus on in life. These felines always live and enjoy life to the fullest, enjoy the little things, and don’t stress about anything else. I mean, seriously. These are the creatures you can spend lots of money on towards toys, and instead, they will stick to playing with crumpled balls of foil, paper bags, and leftover yarn.

They are the happiest with their basic needs taken care of and need nothing more. Give them shelter, food, water, lots of attention and love, and the opportunity to love back. Everything else doesn't matter to them in the slightest, unlike many of us who put more value on material items than we should.

Another contrast to our human tendencies is animals don’t necessarily have a destination or end goal in life. They live. They focus on enjoying the here and now, the journey that life is. And whatever happens in the end, happens. They merely enjoy the ride.

We Can Do That Too

We are perfectly capable of living like Nova and Klein and all other pets. Regardless of our backstories and hardships, we can be mindful and enjoy the journey of life like them.

We can follow the footsteps of mindfully living in the present moment by looking out the window and noting what’s outside, like a cat basking in the sunlight in the middle of the living room.

We can follow the footsteps of doing what makes us alive and happy by doing something we want to do for ourselves, like a cat doing whatever it wants to do during the day with nothing else in mind.

We can follow the footsteps of letting go of stress and focusing on what’s most important by laying on the couch with a roof over our head and cuddling with that very cat that’s purring loudly. The purring in itself is a great stress relief to sit back and listen to.

My cats became my role models when I had severe anxiety in 2016. Whenever they sat on the couch to relax, I would sit with them, focus my attention on my surroundings and belongings, being aware of their existence, and hold gratitude for having such things in my life.

When they would take a particular interest in something so small, I would find something small or “trivial” and ensure that I, too, found joy in finding the little things. This also had me realize I needed to re-prioritize many things in life.

When they would take an enormous amount of time grooming themselves (as if they weren’t soft and fluffy enough), I was reminded that I needed to take care of myself and appreciate myself too.

If you have a pet, regardless of what animal it is, take a few minutes to sit down and observe what it does. Is it just chilling in your home and happy as it sits on your couch? Is it mindfully fixated on something small and giving it its full attention? See how you can be mindful with your pet, enjoy life, and perceive life in its eyes. You learn a lot just by stopping and practicing mindfulness by yourself during the day. But in my experience, practicing mindfulness with an animal and learning from its way of living can really make an impact.

I hope you all have an animal to look up to like Nova and Klein in your life as I do.