Cats are Underrated

Garfield is one of the world’s most famous cartoon cats. Although all people might not like cats, he is just one of those cats you could not hate. For example, if I were to ask somebody, “What is Garfield’s favorite food?”, most people would know that the answer is lasagna. It is just that everyone has a common knowledge of Garfield. Just like how when I say his name an image of him pops up into your head and you can picture his orange, striped self laying on the couch or being lazy somewhere. Garfield is not the only cat that has such a strong impact on people. Most cats have this kind of impact on humans and we are just oblivious to it unless we own a cat ourselves. The people who say that they do not like cats are even more oblivious to it. Most of the people who do not like cats have never owned a cat or have had bad previous experiences with cats. Cats can have such a much more positive impact on your life than you think. I have grown up with cats every since I was two years old. My brother got two kittens for his birthday, a boy and a girl, from his biological dad who is also my uncle. He gave the girl kitten to me, which was one of the few things that he did right in life. I named her Callie because mom had told me that she was a calico kitten even though we later found out that she is actually a tortoiseshell cat. I carried her around the house, wherever I went. I even tried to take her to school with me in first grade. I had gotten all the way to school and was about to get out of the car when mom heard her meow. She then told me I was not allowed to take her into school with me. Another day, Callie had gotten into the dryer but mom had no clue that she did when she turned it on. When she started to hear the thumping sound in the dryer she opened it and realized that Callie was in there. Despite all of this, she was always there on my bed waiting for me to get home from school at the end of each day. No matter how much I had put her through, she still came and slept with me every night. As I got older, I never really had friends that I could just rant to, so she served as that friend to me. She understood when I was mad, sad, or just plain tired. If I was not acting right, she would rub all over me, meowing and all, until I petted her to assure her that I was okay. I did the same for her too. She was always terrified of vacuum cleaners and thunderstorms. So in the middle of thunderstorms or when we had to vacuum, I would hold her and let her know that she was okay. Spring break of 2014 was the first time I had went with my friends to the beach. At first, mom was not going to let me go. But finally, she let me go whenever Hagan, McKenna, and their great aunt Sara was going down. Laci, the friend I was going for, did not know that I was coming. Whenever we arrived, we all immediately changed into our bathing suits and went to the pools. I refused to wear sunscreen, resulting in me being completely sunburnt. At night, we would all go up to the OAS with the guys and watch them play basketball. One night, the cops had to show up and sent us all back to the campers. Of course if mom were to find that out I would get in trouble. I did not go home when I was suppose to and mom was madder than she normally is. She wanted me home on Friday but I had not yet finished spending time with the new guy I met so I ended up going back on Sunday. My brother had texted me on Wednesday of that week, repeatedly saying “I love you, D”. My brother is not the type to say I love you, let alone text me randomly to say it. I went home and on the way home mom told me the news. She told me, “She is dead..” At first I was confused but then it hit me. The thing is, I do not cry. That is the first time I cried in front of my mom. I cried and cried for days straight. I figured it was a dream or more like a nightmare. Mom had continued to tell me that they had already buried her and that they put her bunny in there with her. I realized this was the reason Jordan was texting me and also the reason mom was so mad I had not came home earlier. The first couple days it felt weird going to bed by myself. It also felt weird waking up with no one to get ready with or anything. I figured I would wake up from this dream soon. Two years later and I have yet to wake up from it. Snowball, Callie’s brother, sleeps with me now. Whenever something important happens, I still have the instinct to tell Callie. Also whenever something bad happens, I have no one to rant to. I have realized that not every cat is the same as she was. Like, Sophie, my new cat, is nothing like her. Losing Callie has made me almost emotionless to loss. I have never really lost family members, but when I lost both great uncle’s last year, I felt nothing. I felt kinda bad because everyone around me at the funerals were so sad and emotional. Those losses were understandable to not cry or feel anything because I did not know the people that well. I have had a few losses over the past two years that should have affected me. I lost my sugar glider and I lost my dog that I had had for around five years. Mocha, my sugar glider died and I felt some grief but I did not experience the same amount I felt when I lost Callie. Losing Buddy, my dog, was a big deal around my house. Mom even questioned why I never cried about it or showed any emotion during it. I realize now that losing Callie was the last time I have and more than likely will ever show that much emotion. The bonds between cats and humans not only apply to me. They apply to anyone and everyone who has ever owned a cat. Callie was my emotional support for most of my life. Now that I do not have her, I have to deal with things differently. Cats help people express their emotions and also calm their emotions. Sometimes you do take things for granted. I took Callie for granted thinking that she was going to be there all the time, I never once took into account how I would act without her. You can not take these things for granted. People need cats. Especially the people who need emotional help or support.