Can Owning a Cat Make You Happy?

I've owned quite a few cats through the years, and I can tell you that each one has filled my heart and my home with the kind of love and laughter only a cat can bring. It's the little things cats do that can catapult you out of a bad mood and put a smile on your face without you even realizing what happened. Cats can be very entertaining, and they can be extremely affectionate.

I used to have a whole family of cats living with me. The mother, the father, and the three youngsters all did a wonderful job of keeping my spirits up and running when I was feeling anything but cheerful. I can remember one incident where Kosmas (a sweet cat and a usually tolerant father) seemed to have silent issues going on with his son, Fluffy. Most of the time, Fluffy's interaction with Kosmas was of a friendly nature. There was one encounter, though, that took both me and Fluffy by surprise. I don't know if Kosmas was having a bad day, but after a few moments of sitting in silence before his son, Kosmas decided he was going to lift his meaty little paw and whack Fluffy upon the head a few times. I don't know if Fluffy was more surprised than I was, but I'm sure he didn't think it was as funny as I thought it was - if he thought it was funny at all.

My cats often got themselves into hilarious predicaments. I can remember sitting quietly in my kitchen one summer afternoon when, all of a sudden, a white plastic grocery bag flew past me at high speed. At that moment, I had no idea what was propelling this shopping bag across the floor, but I thought I should find out because - well -- plastic grocery bags just don't move like that. So there I was, running through my dining room, around the kitchen and down the hall, in hot pursuit of a grocery bag. It was on my return trip down the hall that I realized what had happened. My cat, Blaise, had put his head through the handle of the bag. My analysis of the situation indicated that my courageous cat must have panicked when he found himself attached to the bag and started running to get away from it, steadily increasing his speed so that he might escape from the bag monster. I finally did rescue Blaise from his horrible ordeal. Luckily, he wasn't hurt in any way, and I had a real good laugh.

Through my experience with cats, I learned a lot about how they can influence the way you feel. Cats can make you laugh until you cry, and they will lick the tears from your cheek when you're feeling blue. At the present time, I have just one cat left from that family of cats I once shared my home with. Fluffy is a senior now, but still playful, and he's always ready to steal the straw out of my drink when I'm not looking -- just the way he stole my heart fourteen years ago.