Everything I Need To Know I Can Learn From My Pets

I have two pets, Dory and Olive. Today, I watched my cat, Dory as she pretended she was Peter Pan and attacked her shadow on the wall. Probably, I should have been writing, but I’m starting a new book and the blank page is pretty intimidating; any distraction is an effective one, unfortunately.

But while I watched Dory attack her shadow, I realized that she and my other cat, Olive, might possibly be the wisest animals on the planet. I can learn a lot from my cats. You see, if I Iooked hard enough, I could possibly learn some important lessons, not on how to attack your shadow, but lessons for life.

Life Lessons From My Pets

I’ve been observing both of my pets, Dory and Olive, since we picked them up from the shelter a year ago. They were your normal, crazy 6-month-olds who wanted to climb up anything and everything. After a year, though, they’ve mellowed and I can now see their personalities peeking through the momentary haze of feline-insanity, and these observations have taught me a number of interesting things.

Pet #1 – Dory, The Crazy Cat

First, I’ll talk about pet #1: Dory (in no particular order, she won the coin toss and then chased the coin into the basement).

She’s a black and white tabby, as you can see in the photo to the right; she’s hanging out on my desk as I write this blog post. She’s an overweight tabby (my fault) with wiry hair and a playful attitude. I guess she plays like any other cat, but the thing that’s interesting about Dory is this — when she sees something, it’s as if she’s seeing it for the first time.

What an incredible gift. What would a sunset be like?

Imagine being excited every time you see the pallet of colors brushed the sky at sunset.

I guess it would be like the movie 50 First Dates. That didn’t seem so fun, but with Dory, this ability to be amazed by the most mundane things seems selective. She can find joy in the stuffed animal which had lost most of its fur. She still chases the ratty, old pipe cleaner that she’s played with for a year, yet she still stalks it like a lioness on the Serengeti.

Dory’s ability to embrace the simple joys around her is a gift we all need these days.

Dory has a number of other characteristics which I may mention in the future, but I am the most jealous of this one, seeing the amazement in the mundane.

Pet #2 – Olive, The Compassionate Cat

Pet #2 – Olive: Now Olive is a completely different cat. She’s a tiger-stripe with a beautiful olive-green to her fur, and I think of her as the regal pet, Mufasa – watch out. She does everything with intention and purpose. When Olive plays, she turns the playfulness knob up to 11 and becomes an unstoppable force of nature. When she naps, she naps hard. But the most interesting thing about Olive is her compassion and empathy.

Olive knows when you need a lap cat or just a companion nearby.

When Olive senses one of us needs her . . . she’s there. Sometimes, it’s a little frustrating as she might think I need her to rub against my legs while I’m walking down the hall; that becomes the most challenging pet-obstacle course ever.

You can see her on the back of my chair when I was under the weather and watching TV; she stayed at my side until I got well. It seemed selfless, though I must admit I petted her more than once. But when I was well, she was her normal, standoffish pet, staying at arm’s length unless hunger or boredom drove her within reach.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone had Olive’s empathy and compassion? I know many of us do; the healthcare workers and first responders working so diligently to save lives during all this COVID madness certainly do, thank you for that! But sometimes, we might be too wrapped up in our own stress to watch for signs of need in others.

So when I’m stressing about my next book and how the first page is STILL blank, I see Olive and remember I need to step back and look around; check on the people and see if any are overly stressed or sad or angry or . . . Maybe they just need a paw on the shoulder; it’s remarkable how much that can help.

Animals Are Intuitive And Make Great Characters, Too 

Animals can be such a great character to add to a story, and I do it frequently. In The Giant’s Giant, I added Bailey, a Tree Ferret who is smart, compassionate, and useful to have in a battle. Rayel Juniperus, one of Brianna MineShaker’s friends and a Dryad (kinda like an elf but much cooler), and Bailey are companions in the story and this furry little creature plays an important role in The Giant’s Giant. I crafted Bailey’s personality just like I would any other character; she’s critical to the story and I’m sure you will enjoy her antics.

I’ve tried to think about these two lessons from my cats and keep them always at the front of my mind. In fact, my son seems a little stressed; I’m gonna check on him even though it annoys him when I do, then grab a soda and watch the sunset with my wife.

What kind of things have you learned from your pets? Please share in the comments.

Connect with Mark on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Also, be sure to sign up for his newsletter!