“My Best Friend Is My Cat, Is That Weird?” No & Here’s Why
I think there are plenty of people who would find having a cat best friend weird…
But I think a lot of those people have either had very little contact with cats, probably never having had one as a pet themselves, or they’ve had contact with cats that just didn’t vibe with them the same way some of us have.
Pets are like family to us because they are family, and the same can be said about being best friends – they are our best friends sometimes!
And if you don’t understand, my guess is that’s because you just haven’t experienced the same thing some of us have. Like loving our cats so much it hurts sometimes. This is totally a thing, too.
I’ve had a couple cats come into my life that feel a little like feline soul mates.
Obviously, I don’t mean this in the sense that I would mean having a “soul mate” with a human (I have one of those too, and married him!), but I mean it in the sense of a kind of best friend relationship.
Actually, I think a feline soul mate type of relationship is usually quite a lot better than most best friend relationships, which rarely ever (in my opinion) turn out to be as good as you expect them to.
With cats, things are different, and I’ll get into why I think so in a second.
Before I do, if you could please take a moment after you’ve read this article to leave a comment down below stating if you ever felt you found a pretty-much-soul-mate cat best friend how you would describe your relationship with your cat.
Cause I’m sure it’s very easy to tell if you’ve felt that way although it feels far harder to describe why and how!
Now to share my perspective with you…
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Why We Can Sometimes End up Having a Best Friend Relationship With Our Cats
1. No one will always be there for you in quite the same way as a Velcro cat.
You can have so many different types of relationships in life, but few people can be there for you even most of the time when you need them, let alone all the time.
Be there for you when you’re happy, when you’re sad, and follow you around all day, and keep you company while giving you space all at the same time…?
Yeah no human’s gonna do that. And not drive you crazy for being around them all the time. Simultaneously giving you enough and yet not too much space.
Cats are perfect at that. So perfect. At all of it.
And so it’s hard not to feel like they hit way above humans sometimes insofar as always being there for you, physically. Emotionally. Just present for the majority of your life.
Which is a huge part of what we want from a best friend relationship, in my opinion.
2. Cats accept you no matter what, and who doesn’t want that in a best friend?
Humans are judgmental as hell sometimes, and while it can be fine to deal with on a day-to-day basis, sometimes you just need a break and want someone to acknowledge you’re just fine the way you are.
Humans can criticize you without understanding the whole picture, they can try to give you advice – good, solid advice! – but when you really needed comfort instead… but cats?
They’re just not going to judge you. Not at all.
So if you need that comfort element in your life without any judgement, for a little bit, for a long bit, for how much ever time you want or need it, it’s right there in your cat, or your dog, or whatever pet you have that’s hanging around because honestly, I think this is an animal thing and why we love them so stinkin’ much sometimes!
They are just comforting in the ultimate non-judgmental way. Because let’s be honest, being judgmental is probably an exclusively human thing on this planet. Or maybe it’s not, but it seems to be!
Zeller Shark Felt Cat Basket Pet Bed – Amazon
3. A lot of cats jump in to comfort you when you are at your lowest, even before anyone else notices.
Animals seem to have this knack for interpreting our moods and behaviours.
There are some cats that will sleep on their humans when they are sick, or go in for cuddles when you’re sad.
Or sometimes they honestly are just so proactive about trying to get cuddles and love from you that it doesn’t matter if they noticed, being such friendly, warm, creatures around you snaps you out of your lowest lows sometimes, and it’s them being them, nothing even special, for them to make you feel so stinkin’ great.
The fact that cats are there for you at your lowest, without you even needing to say a word (if you even can, sometimes that’s hard!), before anyone else notices, and they basically can change your mood on a dime sometimes just by being them, this is such massive best-friend mind-reading or mood-elevating that we would kill to have in a human best friend.
But we already have it! In our ever-so-wonderful cats.
4. Sometimes cats feel practically human-like in their understanding of us as people.
I feel like my cats really know me.
This is crazy sounding maybe, but they know what I like and dislike when it comes to things such as their behaviour toward me and how to make me smile and tick.
Bjorn will run up to me and just stare at me, dead in the face, until I pet him. How can I say no to his eyes?
Avery’s a different ball game and he’s a slacker cracker who absolutely wants me to make the effort and go pet him wherever the heck he happens to be when he’s flopped over lying down, or tucked away in his Trixie Minou cat bed by the window ,which is still his favourite to this day…
So what’s he do?
Annoyed the heck out of me by incessantly meeping, until I give up and go pet him until he’s satisfied. Yup, he’s trained me.
But like seriously – who knows us this well in our lives?
Many people don’t know other people they live with this well. Best friends definitely don’t always know what makes the other tick, or stupendously happy.
Cats know. Our cats really know.
The closer they are to us, the more it fees like they just get us in a way that others don’t. So yeah, I think this helps qualify them even more for the title of best friend.
Trixie Pet Products Minou Cuddly Cave – Amazon / Chewy
5. With some cats, you just feel like they’re pretty much your soul animal.
I don’t know how to describe this honestly, but I’ve felt super close to many cats before, where I love them to bits and would happily be their pet mamma forever and ever.. but then..
There are cats I have connected with on such a deep level that I practically feel like they’re my soul animal.
It’s just not possible for me to put into words exactly what it is about that particular relationship? Maybe it’s a reciprocity thing where I know I love them SO much and they love me SO much, but at the same time there is also another level to it because there’s that and then on top of that there’s one other thing…
I guess a feeling that your cat is legit somehow perfect for you, and just knows exactly what you like and dislike and embodies that, and is just the right amount of comforting and giving you space and loving, and independent, and all sorts of things where you just feel like, daym, how’d you get so lucky to find such a perfect fit?
I guess like that? If it makes any sense? In which case yes you have a cat best friend, but you probably also have something I’d consider an even stronger bond, something like a cat soul animal. Which is like, the peak connection in my mind to a pet.
I don’t know if that made any sense but I know SOMEONE has got to understand what I’m saying, and if you do, please leave a comment below cause I’m starting to feel like I sound bonkers. Not that I’d mind.
Your Thoughts on Cat Best Friends?
What would you consider a cat best friend? Do you think it’s weird to think of a cat as your best friend?
Do you feel like you’ve had one or more cat best friends? Do you feel like you’ve ever felt like a cat was pretty much your soul animal? Do these feel different to you?
I could ask a bajillion questions but basically – please tell me your thoughts and stories about your cats on this topic, cause I’m super curious! As I’m sure everyone else who stumbles across this article feeling they’ve got a cat best friend would be.
Elise Xavier
Have three pet cats, Avery, Bjorn, & Athos whom I love to bits. Obsessed with cats. Figured I might as well blog about ’em.
Fond of my fluffies? See more of them on my personal blog, E&T. Dig KittyClysm? Check out all the other blogs I pen & photograph.
Elise’s Favourite Tip
One of the most frustrating problems I’ve had to deal with as a pet parent is staying on top of my cats’ desire to play. While this is typically hard to do, toys like these that allow cats to play by themselves make the job one heck of a lot easier.
The hits in my household are ridiculously affordable: cat springs, ball track toys, & kick sticks. I have a slew scattered around the house, so when my cats get bored, even if I’m busy or not even home, my furries are able to actively play.
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I’m pretty sure that my cat is my best friend. He is always there for me, he would never ghost me (like another friend of mine did recently), and we depend upon each other for emotional support. I’m always there for him and he is always there for me. That’s how best friends are. Or should be. Christina.
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Hi, I’m Elise! Welcome to KittyClysm – a blog for cat lovers & kitty keepers. Join me & my furries in our little corner of the feline-obsessed world. Facts about cats, training tips, odd behaviours, pet care advice – I talk as much as I can about it all here!
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