One day I am going to work during the week, and volunteering with my therapy cat on weekends and the next day the entire universe seems upside down. In the blink of an eye, I am working from home completely isolated from all humanity. Trips to the grocery store have become planned excursions that one must dress for like an old “B” horror movie and toilet paper is something to be found on the black market.

I am a solitary person that lives alone. I didn’t realize how much being social meant to me until it was taken away. These past weeks the only real solace I have had is my cat. What my cat once gave to others, she now provides to me. We have new routines and a new life style. Everything is different now and I don’t know when it will be the same, if ever.  

I do know that there is cat comfort in a COVID-19 World.

The New Week Day

Like most Americans fortunate enough to be working from home, each morning I awaken and get ready to commute from my bathroom to my dining room. Kali-Ma is waiting for me in the bathroom window with her usual charm to start my day. It is impossible to be in a bad mood with her there to greet me.

As the day progressives and I receive what is likely to be bad news on top of bad news: business associates that have contracted the diseases, news from friends that are in the hospital with the disease, communications from work, etc., Kali-Ma will at some point jump on the table and just look at me. It’s as if she knows when I am at my near breaking point and she will just stand there as if to say “Well, what about me??”

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So, I stop everything and hold her. Then I play with her for five minutes and I realize that she just gave me a good dose of cat comfort in a COVID-19 world again right when I needed it. She then turns over and looks at me as if to say “you can go back to work now”.

The New Weekend

Kali-Ma and I use to spend weekends sharing her therapy with others. Allowing the elderly and children to touch her. COVID-19 changed that and made it impossible. When the cat at the zoo contracted the virus from a human, it became even more critical that I protect her from all humans. This is not something Kali-Ma was accustomed to. Quite the contrary, as she loves to be told how wonderful she is!

After three weekends at home with no fresh air, it was clear that we both were going crazy. So, I packed up the car and we went to the park early in the morning. It was my intention that we would encounter as few people as possible on a 40 degree Saturday morning at 8:00 am.

With Kali-Ma in her stroller secured with the top down we walked. Just breathing the air and walking felt incredible. When we got to about the second mile and there was no one in sight, I put the top down on her stroller and let her feel the air. Her head popped up and we were off!

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We found a park bench by the river and I gave her a treat. As we shared the moment in silence together with the birds and the ducks, I reflected on how blessed we were at that moment. We were safe, healthy and free breathing air. I sent a picture to my friend in the hospital with COVID-19 and she said she wished she could feel she feel the sun on her face. I thought how much I had taken for granted in just that past few hours.

Final Thoughts

Now more than ever I thank God for Kali-Ma every second of every day of my life. I am grateful for the volunteer work we did when we did it, as I do not know if the world will ever be the same again. I pray there will be a time when it will be safe for her to go to hospitals and nursing homes and spread joy, but that time may not come again.

Until we can all see the other side of this, Kali-Ma and I wish you safety, health and most of all that you have Cat Comfort in a COVID-19 World. Please share your stories with us in the comment section. We love to hear from you especially now. I am here with her waiting to see pictures of you and your cat. Let us know you are safe.

Until next time…Happy Tails to you…..

Here are some links from pervious blogs you may find interesting during this time:

Thinking about catnip?

https://www.tailsofkalima.com/catnip-and-cats-everything-you-need-to-know/

If your house is starting to smeall from the cat litter:

6 Tips For Choosing Cat Litter

Everything you never knew about Calico Cats:

The Calico Cat Life – Interesting Facts About Calico Cats