A CAT STOLE MY COMPUTER

Hi, my name is Fred. I’m a cat. 

Why is a cat writing this blog?
Good question. 

I’m taking over this blog today because I’ve got some stuff to share with you. Stuff I think you’ll find helpful. It sure helped me. 

Before I get to the catnip, here’s some background...

I spent the first two years of my life in foster care, and it was awful. I was picked on relentlessly and never got enough food. One of the other cats even ripped my ear because he didn’t like me.

At the age of two, I was adopted by a family consisting of one human and a cat (black, just like me). Scary! How could THIS be better?

For the next six months, I hid. Under a bed, under a couch, inside a closet - anywhere I could to be alone, because I was too scared to come out.

Living like this was pretty lonely, but I was too afraid to do whatever the human and the cat were doing: like playing, or eating, or snuggling.

Sometimes I would run by and get just close enough so they could see me, but I wouldn’t let them get to know me… and when I considered getting closer, I would remember all the pain I experienced growing up.
And those thoughts made me keep my distance.

I kept those painful thoughts in the front of my brain so I could protect myself from being hurt again. But I was really closing myself off from getting to know others and closing myself off from love.

I could tell that my new family wanted to love me, and I was too afraid to let them. Because what if they hurt me?

After a year of this, I started to let my guard down a little. I let the human pet me every so often, and I would get closer to the other cat.
They seemed nice enough.…

So I risked it. 
I started to play with them instead of keeping myself sidelined. 
I let the human get close to me and pet me. 
The other cat started washing my face. It was like heaven.
I started to relax. Slowly, I started to trust them.
And they kept showing me love.

And then, I started loving them back. 
This is where things REALLY started to change.
We started to do A LOT of things together! 

I would eat with the other cat, and play with the other cat, and follow the other cat outside. Our whole family would all snuggle together.

I started to talk a lot more.
I would sleep on the bed when the human wasn’t home.

Then, we moved. From the city to the country.
My life changed completely.

The human lets me go outside and explore. I catch at least five mice a day, and I tell my family all about it. They seem to like when I talk!

I’m not afraid of whatever is out there, because I’ve faced my fears before and I know I can do it again. Besides, usually what I conjure in my brain is waaaaaaay worse than anything I’ve actually experienced.

My foster home life seems like it was at LEAST nine lives ago.

I learned that by letting myself receive love, I’m able to relax and give more love.

And THAT, for me, is really living. 

​It’s even better than catnip!

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©Catherine Borowski 2017
www.celebratingwealth.com

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