My Little House Panther

How my little joy has changed my life…

I have always been a dog person. I grew up with dogs, and have always had them, except when I was away at school. My dream dog is a German Shepherd.

When I was very little, we had two cats – brothers from the same litter. We gave them to my grandparents when we were supposed to move overseas and weren’t going to be able to take them. Since then, though, we never had cats in the house because of the litter box.

Enter my little joy…

I moved out on my own in December of 2020. I knew that I wanted a companion but at the stage of my life I was entering, getting a dog was not feasible. I was working a lot and wouldn’t be home often enough to be fair to a puppy, especially if I got my dream dog – high maintenance, energetic and social.

Instead, I considered a kitten.

I started looking at shelter websites in the local area, trying to find my perfect companion. I wasn’t picky about adopting a kitten versus an adult – I was looking more at the personality and temperaments, but it was important to me to rescue.

Just after Christmas, I found the profile of a small black kitten named “Ray” in a foster home through Brave Animal Rescue in Lincoln, Neb. After a Zoom call with the rescue and the foster mom, where I got to see how my potential new kitten acted and played – I fell head over heels in love.

New Year’s Eve I drove out to Lincoln to go bring my baby home.

From the moment I got her settled in my car to drive home, she became my little joy. Having never had a kitten, those early days were so much fun – watching her explore, learning her personality and trying to pick a name that fit her best.

By the end of the first week, she had her new name: Sage.

As with many others, Covid had some impact on my work schedule. In addition, I moved to Nebraska at the start of winter. It snowed. A lot. So, there I was in a (relatively) new place, I didn’t know anyone, one of my jobs was mostly remote and the other was at a school, so we had a lot of snow days.

I was alone quite a bit for the first few months after my move.

Sage and I had a lot of cuddling and bonding time as a result of all the snow days in those first few weeks. And honestly, I really don’t think my mental health would have been as good as it was if I didn’t have her. By nature, I am introverted, but I still need socialization and connection. I wasn’t getting that, except with her. She has been my blessing.

As someone diagnosed with anxiety and a perpetual people pleaser, there are times when I have trouble regulating my emotions or I take a tumble down the rabbit hole, or I’ve spread myself so thing, I crash. Sage, my sweet little house panther, has changed how I manage my anxiety, drastically.

Sage is absolutely a mama’s girl. She is cuddly and affectionate. When I’m stressed, especially, she has a special talent of knowing when I need to slow down. She’ll lay down next to me, or on me, and we’ll cuddle for hours. Her purr helps settle my heart and my mind, and it’s constantly going when we curl up together.

There are times, especially when I travel and have endless long days at work and volunteering, when I wonder if I should have waited to get a companion. Selfishly, I think Sage came into my life at the right time. She has brought so much joy and love to my life. She’s my baby – a little spoiled and a lot loved.

So, if you’re on the fence about finding yourself a companion – do it. If it’s a choice between trying to get through your mental health issues on your own or finding a companion – dog, cat, horse or other critter – please choose joy!

Happy National Cat Day!