Our cats do have the best lives, don’t they? I often say that in my next life, I’m going to come back as one of my cats. If I did, here’s what a typical day would look like:
I wake up when I’m good and ready. I stretch, and then I slowly get up. When I walk into the kitchen, breakfast is being prepared for me, and served on my favorite blue dish. After breakfast, I make the rounds of the house, and take a look out the windows to make sure nothing has changed while I was sleeping. After all that activity, it’s time for a nice long nap. The biggest decision: where to take that nap? It may be a bit of a toss up between a sunny spot on the rug, and the lap of the human I love most in this world. Most days, the lap will win.
After my nap, I wake up to find that the human is in the kitchen. Excellent! This must mean more food. Treats are immediately forthcoming. Then I get a nice massage, and my fur is being brushed until it shines. Now it’s decision time again: birdwatching? Playing? Another nap? To mix things up a bit, I may choose a different sequence on different days, but ultimately, it always ends with another nap.
When I wake up from my second nap, I feel a little hungry – and lo and behold, the human has tuned in to my thought waves, and is already in the kitchen, preparing my meal. After dinner, the human and I hang out together, and soon it will be time to go to bed (humans don’t sleep nearly enough, but night seems to be the one time when cats can get uninterrupted sleep and snuggle time.)
Okay, so maybe this would be a bit of a boring life, but cats have the right idea: life is so much better when you do things that make you feel good. And while our busy human lives may prevent us from doing that all the time, I recommend that you try to be your cat as much of your day as you can.
Here are some ways you can be like your cat – I guarantee you that they will make you feel good:
Stretch. Stretching increases circulation and improves flexibility, balance and coordination. Stretching is especially important as you get older. Stretching comes naturally to all of us, not just cats – you’ve probably noticed that after you sit in the same position for a long time, you’ll feel compelled to stretch before you get up.
Look for the sunny spots, both literally and figuratively. Natural sunlight is important to boost vitamin D levels, something that can be especially challenging this time of year. Experts recommend 20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure every day (wearing sunscreen continuously can reduce the amount of vitamin D a person is able to make). Looking for the sunny side of life in general will improve your sense of well-being.
Get enough sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults are now sleeping only 7 hours per night on average as opposed to the 8 hours sleep specialists recommend. The average cat sleeps between 12 and 16 hours a day. They clearly know something!
Would you want to trade places with your cats? In what ways would you want to be like your cat?
Enjoy the basics is something cats do so properly. That’s something the boys remind me everyday.
We can learn so much from our cats!!! I always say that they are little wise souls in feline bodies… I love just EVERYTHING about their philosophy of life!
Me, too, Anna!
I fill as much of my day as possible with my creative pursuits, which for me is like cats napping and playing–and I can tell they approve since they all join me.
Now that’s the highest honor, Bernadette: when your cats accept you as one of them!
All smart humans want to be more like us 😉
Purrs
You are so right, Texas.
Yep this about covers it! I would love to come back as Cody and have the ability to make anyplace I put my butt look like the most comfortable place in the world!
Cats definitely have an amazing ability to do just that, Caren, don’t they!