For as long as I’ve been alive I’ve had a cat in my home. Blaze was the first and although he had the typical “Leave me alone” attitude, he was still down to play and cuddle on occasion. When I was 4, we got Cheddar. Blaze, of course, wasn’t too thrilled about the little orange puffball invading his house but he soon adjusted and they became best friends who slept next to each other on the couch and had wrestling matches after dinner. Unfortunately, Blaze passed away sooner than we expected and poor Cheddar lost his friend.

Cheddar was a part of our family for 15 years. That’s a pretty long time if you ask me. I still remember the day we got him. My dad, my brother and I all went to the humane society with the intention of adopting a kitten. I wasn’t going to leave without one, I was sure of it. We walked in and saw a couple girls sitting on the floor playing with 2 kittens. They told us that there was one more but he was sleeping in the cage. I peeked inside and there was Cheddar. He opened his eyes and came strolling out. My dad signed some papers and he was ours. I remember spending the whole car ride home talking about names for him. I voted for Pumpkin, it didn’t stick.

Bella is the current feline running my household. When I was in high school I decided I wanted to get a female cat. Blaze and Cheddar had both been male so I had never had one before. Well. Bella is a little princess, to say the least. Probably the least affectionate of cats that I’ve ever had but hey, sometimes I can relate. Who wants people constantly touching them right? She doesn’t like cuddling or being held. When she feels like it, Bella will rub her face on the back of your legs when you’re standing at the kitchen counter or grace you with her presence by laying the farthest from you as possible on your bed. She loves clean laundry and loves getting in the way of folding it. She’s moody and annoyed most of the time. But then again, that’s probably why we get along so well.

Cats are temperamental. It’s true. But with any animal, you never know what you’re going to get. The best part of having a pet is the companionship. Sure, dogs are generally known to be more energetic and playful. I love dogs. I do. I love my own dog. I even dog sit sometimes. Watching someone else’s dog is like watching someone else’s kid though, they’re fun to play with for a while but then you get to give them, all their energy and all that responsibility back. There’s a lot more chill that comes with cats. They poop in a box, clean themselves and come looking for attention when they want it. To me, that’s the perfect scenario.