Amy Wenzel Photography

How He Drinks his Water

Some might say he’s just a cat. But to me his is my furry little buddy who is such an integral part of what I consider a happy life.

I used to be so lonely in the mornings when I would wake up to the clock-ticking silence and left over coffee smell. The hint of men’s cologne lingering in the air. Traces that David had been there moving about but was already gone and I was now alone to navigate my day in the unsettling quiet of our home.

But then Pegaus came to be with us. Now I am awakened by his pitiful meows as he begs me to rise and shine. I hear the click, click, click of the door knob turning as he stands on his hind legs and tries to open the door from the other side. Once inside our room he leaps onto the bed and wraps himself around my head to munch on my hair for breakfast. I lay there feeling his purrs reverberating against my skull and read my emails on my phone. It’s our morning ritual and I never have that lonely pit in my stomach anymore. He races me down the stairs and jumps onto the kitchen counter to nose his way into everything that I am doing. The cereal box. The creamer. He begs for his morning treats.

He keeps an eye on me throughout the day, in and out of my office, sometimes even crawling on top of me and throwing himself over my shoulder for a mid-day snuggle and vigorous grinding of his teeth into my ear lobe. He brings me his ball or oversized rubberband and utters a hilarious guttural sound in hopes that I’ll stop what I’m doing and play fetch for a while. When I’m having a catastrophic day I lay down on the floor next to him and bury my face into his furry underbelly and breathe deeply. He calms me. He’s always there when I need him. Even when I don’t need him, he’s there gazing at me with his curious yellow eyes. This is why we love our pets. And why I know I need him so much more than he could ever need me.