knew we would be together for a long time. Puff, my little black and white panther, has been one of the most important
and constant figures in my life. For those who own pets, what is their effect on daily life? What is the effect on me of my
cat?
- In the first place, my cat instills in a
continuous feeling of comfort. He has the ability
to change the color of the sky
from grey to blue in a split second. One meow or purr when he sleeps on my lap lets me know that he is
comfortable,
and in turn my cat makes me comfortable. As Jesus
commanded his people to let him bear the yoke of their pain and torment, my cat does the same for me. I know that whatever happens or will
happen during the course of my life, my cat, like Jesus, will never desert me. Both listen to my complaints and
fears, but with Puff, at least he is physically there to comfort and console my hurt and troubled spirit.
In the second place, my cat gives me a sense of security. Nobody I have ever met is fond of being insecure with their
surroundings. Animals who are constant in our everyday lives help us to grow accustomed to having another presence
with whom we can share our everyday activities, and while cats are not as secure as a humongous guard dog, they do
establish a secure feeling. This feeling is accomplished by the cat continually meowing when they see or hear their
favorite human come home from work. I remember a night a couple of weeks ago when I arrived home late after
hanging out with friends. The living room was completely dark, and as I walked through it I became a little frightened
that someone or something was going to jump out and grab me. As I entered the darkened room, my cat, who is always
ready to scare me, loudly meowed. Although the sound startled me, it let me know that he was there waiting for me to
come home.
In the third place, my cat entertains me. Puff, even at the ripe old age of thirteen, still acts like a young kitten most of the
time, when he's not sleeping that is. He has always been the proverbial court jester of our household. Once I recall that
my family and I were watching television one night. The house was quiet save the racket from the television show. All of
a sudden out of nowhere my little black panther comes tearing out of the hallway and pounces on a ball of lint. He
begins to bat the line around as if it were a live mouse that he was playing with. Then as quickly as he entered, he
departed from our presence back into the darkness of the hallway. As he entertains us with his kitten like antics, I am
reminded of his childhood behavior.
And this brings us to the fourth and final effect my cat has on me, which is a feeling of a tie to the past.
When my cat plays with a tiny piece of lint or bats at a piece of string, his motions and sounds take me back to a time
when both of us were younger and more athletic. When I was a child I would play with the black panther all day every
day. Back then, it was extremely easy to interest Puff in playing but since he is older now, he just doesn't have the
energy for it anymore. Used to be that I cold be tying my shoes and he would play with my laces even though I was not
enticing him to. Now I can rub the string across his paws and he would not even notice that I am doing so. But when he
does play, it reminds me of how my life used to be.
Throughout the years, my cat, Puff, has comforted me in times of sorrow, made me fel secure in myself, entertained me
with his antics, and helped me forge a bond to the past that will never be broken. Until the day he heads for the great
catnip patch in the sky, he will continue to do so.
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