I always thought I was a dog person.
But nothing in life goes the way we expect. So of course, I ended up with cats.
After we got our first cat 20 years ago, I found out I was allergic. I learned to live with it. And it turns out I learned a lot more than that.
Since my son went away to college, leaving us with an empty nest, I've been more involved with his cat, Peppy. And now I wish I'd paid attention to her years ago. I could have saved myself a lot of aggravation.
Here are just 10 parenting lessons I've learned from our cat:
1. Actions speak louder than words:
Neither of them are listening most of the time anyway.
2. Their actions speak louder than words too.
Peppy communicates perfectly when she wants something. She gets it, too.
3. You can't change their essential nature.
Neither cats or children change their personalities much from the moment of birth. You can, however, observe a cat before choosing to take it home.
4. Sometimes they don't want to be with you.
Everyone needs his or her own space sometimes. The trick is to learn to enjoy it.
5. Sometimes you don't want to be with them.
Unfortunately, timeouts don't work very well with a cat.
6. You can't make them eat what they don't want to eat.
Although you might have better luck with a child.
7. If you don't pressure them, they come to you.
Guilt doesn't work on a cat, either.
8. Sometimes they hurt you.
Peppy still draws blood almost daily. With kids, it's usually an accident.
9. Sometimes you hurt them.
I got divorced. And once I slammed a door on Peppy's tail. At least eventually the kids forgave me.
10. Once you have them, it's hard to imagine life without them.
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