How many of you would like to laugh more, to be less stressed, and to be loved unconditionally?

What I am prescribing are the benefits of the human-animal bond. According to the American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians, the human-animal bond is a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and other animals.

How does the bond actually form? Sometimes a connection is made in just days. Have you ever agreed to take care of a stray cat for a couple of days until the owner is identified? Or have you ever fed a stray cat in your backyard thinking the cat will probably disappear in a day or two? Or have you ever rescued a kitten off the streets with the intentions of taking it to a shelter the next day?

What often happens (fortunately for the cat and for you!) is you become connected in a short time. You and other family members become emotionally involved. Maybe you spend time and energy picking out food, toys, and litter. You do everything to make the cat comfortable in your home or yard, especially if the cat has been traumatized. You look forward to coming home to see the cat. You have cat names going through your mind. Maybe you even let the cat sleep in your room or in your bed.

With the first mention of taking the cat to a shelter, the family disagrees. Perhaps the conversation never even reaches that point, because everyone forgets about giving up the cat. That is because the cat has touched you on some level and is becoming part of you. It will be impossible for you to give up a cat that is becoming family.

Do you have a cat that you intended to keep temporarily, but is now family?

Happy Purrs!