This is my first article at the Odyssey. I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited. I spent a lot of time deciding what to write about. I finally decided on the idea that made me want to start writing for the Odyssey: adopting older cats.

June is Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat month, and a lot of animal shelters run promotions to try to get as many cats to their forever homes as possible. Animals have always had a very special part in my life; I grew up with a multitude of pets who were (and still are) my best friends. I'm adopted, and although adopting a child is very different from adopting a cat, pet adoption has a very special place in my heart. As do all cats. Especially fat and fluffy ones.

I have a panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and being with my pets seemed to help. I'm from Saint Louis, Missouri, and I go to school in Rochester, New York, so it's not easy being so far away from them. In 2015, I learned about emotional support animals, and I decided that having one at college would be beneficial for my mental health. While on medical leave to get my anxiety under control, I started looking at potential cats to adopt. For anyone who knows me, I am an avid researcher, so I wanted to learn everything I could about adopting the right cat. During my research, I found an article about adopting older animals. A huge percentage of shelter animals are older animals. People are more drawn to adopting kittens and puppies, so older animals, even if they're only a year or two old, get left without families. Maybe I'm an emotional baby, but it breaks my heart to think of all these furry babies without loving homes and attention. It's shocking and upsetting how many people adopt kittens, but get rid of them when they become cats. There are so many benefits to adopting an older cat!

1. Kittens need so much attention. You need to play with them, make sure they don't get into trouble, make sure they don't ruin your furniture, ensure they use the litter box, etc.

2. You don't know what your kitten's personality will be like when it gets older. If you get an older cat, you do! Older cats are typically more mellow (and awesome).

3. You know if your cat likes being held or not. Kittens can be pretty squirmy, , but with an older cat, they've decided what they will and will not tolerate.

4. Older cats had previous families and/or were on the street. They need extra love because many of them had it before they were taken to the shelter, and know what they're missing.

5. Older cats are often cheaper to adopt to make them more appealing. Older cats are not always old. Cats can live for a very long time (20 years +), so if you get a cat that's 3 years old, you won't be cheated out of a long happy life with your feline friend.

I spent hours and hours pouring over all the cats on petfinder. I swear I went through hundreds of pages. I looked and looked, and suddenly, I saw her. Her name was Gertie, and she was a six year old fluffy tabby. This was the one. The shelter she was at is called Tenth Life. They are a no-kill cat shelter that places their cats in foster homes or in their storefront, so there aren't walls of cages and sad cats. They're one of my favorite organizations ever. They help all kinds of special needs cats that other people have give up on. Anyways--I made all the appropriate calls and filled out the application. I was approved, but I couldn't get her quite yet, as she currently had an ear infection and was cranky. In the meantime, I went to visit her at the storefront. I went and told the people that I was adopting her, and they were like, "You haven't even met her yet". I responded, 'Yeah, but that's fine. She's perfect and I love her". You could see them thinking, "This girl is out of her mind". I go up to Gertie and pet her. She seems to tolerate it. Eventually, I work into picking her up. She then decides that she's had enough and proceeds to bite my face, drawing a little blood. Everyone at Tenth Life is mortified; they apologize profusely, but I tell them it's fine. This is my cat, and she is perfect.

I was actually approached by the director of Tenth Life about helping Purina by making a short vlog about the adoption process to promote adopting shelter cats. I agreed, and it was super exciting. They gave me all kinds of goodies for my kitty, and the finished promotional video makes me cry every time.

Here's the video:

We're pretty damn cute, aren't we? I decided to rename her Alice. Her full name is Alice Pieszecki Rudy Nediva Carney. Her nicknames include Alice P, Alice P. Cat, and baby princess cat. She's fluffy and sassy and rude and perfect and loud and cuddly. I'm pretty sure she's the cat version of me. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. She's my best friend, and is always there to snuggle, but knows when it's time for tough love. She's helped so much with my anxiety. I'm so lucky to have my baby floof.

So if you're looking to get a cat: please consider getting an older cat. They are fantastic (all cats are amazing) and deserve just as much attention and love as kittens. Don't forget about older kitties!!

I'm grossly obsessed with my cat, so enjoy some more pictures of her:

Alice in her festive holiday sweater

This is at Alice's Gotcha Day party to celebrate having her for a year. Yes, we are party cats in party hats. You wish you had a party hat in cat size.

My baby kitten, snuggled up like the perfect princess she is.