While people are paying attention to their physical health by building home gyms and watching exercises on YouTube, they aren’t focusing on their mental health.
I consider myself blessed as I had a visitor at home: a cute furry stray cat, who loved sleeping in the garden. I could focus on both aspects of my health, mental and physical, by becoming friends with this cute creature.
These are the three ways through which a cute furry stray cat kept my spirits high during the pandemic:
1. The cat helped me keep my stress levels low
Whenever I felt stressed out about the future, the cat would walk up to me and meow until I gave it some food. It would sit at the doorstep of the house and wait for me to pet her. It helped me to forget about my stress and my problems for a short time.
2. The cat made me feel less empty
Not being able to step out of your house during a pandemic can harm one’s mental health. The stray cat made me feel like there was one living creature who was happy to see me. The feelings of emptiness that I had been experiencing at home started decreasing. I loved petting the cat, and it loved sleeping in different locations of my home.
3. The cat made me a more responsible person
During a pandemic, it’s normal for people to lose their sense of responsibility. After the pandemic confined me to the four walls of my home, I started keeping my room messy. I would scatter papers all over my desk. It was time for me to become a more responsible person. It was only when the stray cat started visiting my home that I started paying more attention to my surroundings. I would wash the cat’s food bowl every day. When the cat knocked over a flower pot in the garden, I would put it in the right place. Finally, I started paying attention to the rooms in my house and organized all of my things in them.
Having a pet can provide the necessary emotional support that one needs during a pandemic. I’ll always be grateful to the stray cat for helping me during a difficult time.