{"id":21056,"date":"2023-05-29T00:10:46","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T04:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/?p=21056"},"modified":"2023-05-29T12:47:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T16:47:11","slug":"standing-room-only-for-my-cats-its-lying-room-only","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/standing-room-only-for-my-cats-its-lying-room-only\/","title":{"rendered":"Standing Room Only? For My Cats, It’s Lying Room Only"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This photo from 2020 sums me up. Anywhere I am, there will be a cat, or two, or three…<\/p><\/div>\n

My cats, no matter what point in the journey of my life, have always been bonded to me. Some more than others, ranging from degrees of \u201cYes, please make sure to pat me when you walk by, but then go your merry way,\u201d<\/em> to \u201cOh my God, no! Please don\u2019t ever let me out of your sight, my life as I know it will be over if I don\u2019t know where you are at all times!\u201d<\/em> In early March of this year, that dynamic shifted, with nearly all of my current gang of seven consumed with the need to be near me.<\/p>\n

What happened was a very unexpected twist of events. One in which my fianc\u00e9, Dan, had a catastrophic accident, resulting in complete tears in both his quadriceps, requiring surgery to reattach the torn tendons to both kneecaps, 11 days later. I don\u2019t think anyone truly understands how life-changing this is; for both the person who is in recovery, as well as the person who is the caregiver, in this case, primarily me.<\/p>\n

Dan is a vibrant, active man and he now found himself nearly 100% bedridden with both his legs in cumbersome braces that went from his shin to nearly up his full leg. He\u2019s also very independent and suddenly had to rely on me for practically everything \u2013 from the simplest of getting him a glass of water in a container he could manage to drink from, to taking over the household duties, shopping,\u00a0 and yardwork he normally did.<\/p>\n

His legs also required around-the-clock icing with a special machine to reduce the swelling and pain. I set up a makeshift recovery area in the bedroom for him, trying to make it as easy as possible for him to eat, watch TV on a laptop computer, and more. He had to always lie on his back and had limited mobility, aided much later using a walker. Sitting in a chair, bending, among a mile-long multitude of other things we take for granted, were now daily challenges.<\/p>\n

In between helping him (getting him into the backseat of my car for follow-up doctor\u2019s appointments is a whole other story), I have a very demanding full-time job, the cats, cooking, cleaning, litter boxes, running errands, and my own personal and household needs to take care of. Thankfully, Dan\u2019s daughter Crystal came for a few weeks to help, and despite the circumstances, we found the silver lining: an opportunity for all of us to nurture and strengthen our bonds.<\/p>\n

To say life was topsy-turvy, however, is an understatement, especially for the cats who were used to a very predictable and quiet schedule with the lifestyle Dan, and I used to live. One of the changes was me sleeping on the couch at night because Dan could not be disturbed in bed and I wanted to make sure I was close by and could hear him in case he called me for something. Needless to say, by the time I finally did make it to the couch to settle for the evening, I was utterly exhausted. For perspective, I typically clock an average of 8000 steps a day, but at this time, I was hitting over 20,000 with all I had going on.<\/p>\n

My body would not even be fully on the couch yet, or my head settled on a pillow and it would begin. An instantaneous swarm of cats with the sole focus of finding a place to lie down next to me. Standing room only, more like lying room only<\/em>. They literally could not wait to be with me and came at me from all directions until they were settled in, tucked in as close as they could get to me, where they stayed the entire night. Typically, I had five or six of them with me at any given time, and Shadow, our latest rescue of over three years who still hasn\u2019t quite gotten into the groove of group snuggling, would sleep with Dan at night.<\/p>\n

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Crystal, snapped this photo of me sleeping with the cats on the couch.<\/p><\/div>\n

I truly don\u2019t know who benefited more: me, the cats, or Dan. For me, sharing their company was a blessed haven from the stresses of the day. For Dan, I think Shadow was enormously therapeutic. Somehow, he knew to be gentle and would lie next to Dan, settling in between his braces to provide him with some support and companionship, during what was often a very painful and sleepless night for him. For the cats with me, I think they were just so relieved to have me finally lie down, so I could give them my undivided attention before I fell asleep.<\/p>\n

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Shadow came to us with trust issues, probably abused as a kitten. He’s a rather solitary cat, so his bonding with Dan is all the more powerful, as it’s been a long road to get him to feel fully comfortable and safe.<\/p><\/div>\n

Several months have now passed and things have gotten better. Dan has an incredible sense of resolve and has been relentless in his physical therapy and exercises. We\u2019re not fully back to normal, and we might not ever be, but we\u2019re getting closer. Dan can drive now. He can also sit on the couch again at night to watch TV with me. The cats haven\u2019t missed a beat \u2013 just like it used to be, he\u2019ll have a couple of cats on his lap, and I\u2019ll have a few on mine.<\/p>\n

During the morning and afternoon, Dan alternates between working from bed (or doing his exercises) to working remotely from his computer in the dining room where he can bend his knees now and sit in a chair! Jazmine has really taken to this routine and loves to keep him company when he\u2019s in bed. She reports for morning duty which is comprised of looking out the window at birds, making biscuits, and napping. She\u2019ll sometimes take a break to bring him a plush toy (accompanied by a loud, sweet chirping meow to alert the gift) and will stay with him for hours. Being that her role as nap cat is of utmost priority, Dan sees to it that she has extra-fluffy blankets ready and waiting for her!<\/p>\n

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Jazmine is the Queen of making biscuits!<\/p><\/div>\n

I think what\u2019s most fascinating about all this is the transition. Cats, which for millions of years before joining forces with humans and becoming domesticated, were solitary predators \u2013 silent, fast, and flexible. Dr. Bruce Kornreich, veterinary cardiologist, and director of the Cornell Feline Health Center in the College of Veterinary Medicine sums it up in the Netflix documentary, Inside the Mind of a Cat<\/a>, <\/em>\u00a0\u201cGenetics-wise, you basically have a wild animal living in your house and they\u2019re much the same animal today.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s right. For example, if any of my cats happen to see something, such as a lizard or a bug cross their path, it\u2019s instant feline stealth mode and a race against the clock for Dan or me to save the unwitting victim. It\u2019s easy to picture the cat as if in the wilds of the jungle, albeit in the living room of your home.<\/p>\n

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Even in the comfort of our home, Zoey looks about 2-degrees away from being a wild jungle cat.<\/p><\/div>\n

So, what\u2019s the draw to the human lap (or being near a human lap), or the obsessive need for love and companionship? Well, it\u2019s in the DNA. Cats are smart creatures, and they know how to seek out warm places. A cat\u2019s normal body temperature is 101.0 to 102.5\u00b0F (38.3 to 39.2\u00b0C) which is higher than the normal human temperature of 98.6\u00b0F (37\u00b0C). This means our feline friends must put more effort into staying warm, so what better way than snuggling with a beloved human? Turn it into a pile of cats snuggled together, all the better!<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s more than that. According to Nicole LaForest, LVT, BSc, MPH<\/a> for PetMD, \u201cAs predators, cats need a lot more rest than humans so they can remain alert and focused. They generally sleep between 12-16 hours a day and during these hours, a cat is at its most vulnerable. When your cat chooses your lap as their bed, it\u2019s a testament to your bond.\u201d It really is the ultimate feline compliment. They implicitly trust you and feel safe, loved, and secure. They can also feel comforted by your familiar scent and the softness of your clothes and blankets.<\/p>\n

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Feeling loved by Kizmet. Nothing beats the companionship of a feline friend at the end of a long day.<\/p><\/div>\n

Whatever the reasons, I know the feelings are reciprocated. I feel safe, loved, secure, and protected from the trials and tribulations of the day by their being with me. And I know Dan feels the same way. His road to recovery has been difficult but having several feline caretakers to provide purrs of support has made a huge difference in his spirit.<\/p>\n

\"hearts\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With today being Memorial Day, I also want to pay tribute to all the men, women, bats, cats, dogs, dolphins, sea lions, horses, pigeons, pigs, rats, and more who have served on behalf of the freedoms, privileges, and safety of our country and loved ones. Thank you for your service from the bottom of my heart.<\/p>\n

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Thank you.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My cats, no matter what point in the journey of my life, have always been bonded to me. Some more than others, ranging from degrees of \u201cYes, please make sure to pat me when you walk by, but then go your merry way,\u201d to \u201cOh my God, no! Please don\u2019t ever let me out of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1098,1378,1097,1099],"tags":[175,1508,249,1509],"class_list":["post-21056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cat-behavior","category-feline-human-bond","category-multi-cat-home","category-the-zee-zoey-cats-and-family","tag-cat-behavior","tag-cats-relieve-stress","tag-feline-human-bond","tag-therapy-cat"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Deb-and-cats.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21056"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21073,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21056\/revisions\/21073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeezoey.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}