More Lessons From My Cats

My cats continuously have more lessons for me to learn from. I made the realization that my cats were in my life, not only for the pure joy of loving them, but to provide me with lessons that I needed to learn to continue to grow. Their lessons are providing me with ways to move along on my current path in life. What has been interesting is that most of these lessons are things that I need to learn about myself and work on in me. It has been a roller coaster of emotions as I have been taking what my cats have been teaching me and working on myself. Every day I receive more lessons from my cats. My job is to accept and learn from these lessons. Easier said than done.

Acceptance

I am not a creature of change. Routines makes me happy. Chaos and discord stress me out. Hmm, maybe I am a cat trapped in a human body, lol. Like my cats, it can be a challenge to accept and adjust to change. Over the past few months, acceptance of some changes in the house has been difficult for all of us. The introduction of Zazzles as a Resident Cats has brought about a lot of challenges. The acceptance of another cat into an established clowder can be difficult. My three oldest cats have struggled to accept Zazzles into the ranks. I have never had such a difficult time introducing a cat to my others. This has created many intense moments.

Through it all, I have learned about acceptance, also. Like most cat parents, I want all of my cats to get along. To live in peace and harmony. Huge cuddle puddles. These past few months, I have had to accept that my ideal living environment is probably not going to happen. Getting Zazzles, Bodie, and Hemingway to cohabitate peacefully will probably be the best we can do. Not exactly what I want, but I have learned to accept that. Not everyone has to be best buds. You are not always going to be liked by everyone and that is ok. Accepting that you might not be everyone’s cup of tea is important.

Patience

Patience has been a huge lesson from my cats these past few months. And it has been a hard lesson. I am not saying that I am an impatient person. But, once I get something in my mind, I tend to not be patient waiting for it. I have had to practice patience many, many times with the cats recently. When the dynamics changed in the house, so did the energy. Cats are very sentient beings and energy affects them greatly. Having drama amongst the older cats has caused all the cats to be on edge periodically.

It has caused me to learn to be patient with all of them. To learn not to get frustrated with our level of progress or lack thereof. Being patient with Bodie when he lashes out at Zazzles for no reason has been crucial in achieving the progress that we have. Remembering that Bodie’s aggression stems from fear has helped with my patience lesson. It is easy to get frustrated and stressed when we have disagreements. Patience is a virtue and one that has made a huge difference in not only the cats, but me as well.

More Lessons to Be Learned

I am sure that my cats have many more lessons for me. Being a firm believer that our cats come into our lives for a reason, I feel confident that my babies’ purposes are not over. Once I made the connection between my cats and their lessons for me, there is now a level of excitement and anticipation. I now find myself looking at their behaviors differently, wondering what the lesson is for me. Sometimes the lesson is as simple as enjoy life, which The Gremlin Kittens remind me of daily. Other times the lesson is harder, like suffering loss. Whatever the lesson is, our furry teachers will be there to guide us through it.

“I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.”
― Hippolyte A. Taine