COLUMN: A cat saved my life
No one respects my cat.
Then again, why should they? She’s a furry, 14-pound wrecking ball who can knock everything off my coffee table in record time without a care in the world.
When friends come over to visit, she spends her time either rolling around on the floor manically, just out of hands reach, or lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to attack my visitor’s feet.
Many of my friends are surprised I even have a cat. I certainly don’t fit the mold of a cat coddler.
I’m a silly, foul-mouthed Iraq war veteran going to college trying to make up for a lot of lost time.
Where others would think my attitude, and my past, would exclude me from the life of cat ownership, it’s my past that led me to adopting a cat in the first place.
Contrary to my smile and humorous demeanor people see on the outside, the inside is something else.
As much as I enjoy talking about my time in the military, there are still several aspects of it that bother me and can’t be forgotten.
About two years ago, I found myself in a dark place, no longer able to deal with what my mind was telling me. I began contemplating whether or not I wanted to exist anymore.
I tried to seek help, but VA healthcare has the nasty habit of having long waits for appointments.
So I was on my own.
Thankfully, before I could do something regrettable, I remembered something a reporter from the Chicago Tribune told me about handling stress and depression — get a cat.
I didn’t think much of it at first, but in retrospect, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
When I stepped into the Humane Society two years ago and walked out with my fluffy new roommate, my life was forever changed.
Maybe it’s how adorable she is, or the way nothing ever seems to bother her, but ever since I brought her into my life, I’ve been a lot calmer.
I can deal with stress and sadness better, as well as how I interact with other people. I’m a lot more sociable now than I ever was.
People can make fun of my love for my cat all they want. I don’t care and neither does she.
She’ll never understand how she saved me from oblivion because she’s a cat, but I will always be grateful.
She’s my furry little companion, my lifesaver, my cat — Ellie.
