Guest Blogger: Curtis Q.Purrhead III writes about self-care

Meet Curtis Q. Purrheadd III.  He is a cat with a few things to say about taking care of ourselves.

 

 

A Cat Explains Good Self-Care to Humans

By Curtis Q. Purrhead III

      I laugh when people say they hate cats (and then I usually rub through their legs or otherwise subtly ignore them). If these folks (and others) would stop and think about it, their feline foes have many lessons to share about good self-care. I am a classic example of good self-care so let me begin with my story.

      My name is Curtis Q. Purrhead III and I am 15 years old which is pretty impressive for a cat but even more impressive for one who has the Feline AIDS Virus. I demonstrated good self-care from the moment I met my human (Jane Freund) 13 years ago. I wanted food and shelter on a permanent basis, which she had, so I sat on the ledge outside her kitchen window and meowed until she let me inside. She did so and my basic need was met which is a measurement of good self-care.

      But my good self-care did not end there but rather only just began. Let me make my case with another classic saying about cats: "Dogs have owners and cats have staff" is spoken to say that cats have expectations that others will help them out. Well DUH, of course we do! Self-care isn't limited to doing things for ourselves. For example, I can't operate a can opener to get food so I have to rely on somebody who can (such as a human with opposable thumbs).

      Another example of cats as self-care experts is that we sleep so much. That's because we have lowered expectations which is also important in good self-care. The people I've seen who lack good self-care often have to-do lists that are longer than their arms. Some folks should be called human "doings" instead of human "beings'. We felines don't have that problem as we choose relaxation over trying to finish terminal to-do lists. They don't call them "cat-naps" for nothing!

      Also, cats keep self-care pretty simple such as demonstrated by how we play. Have you ever noticed that cats can turn just about anything into something to play with? We make toys out of string, balls of paper, rubber bands and the list goes on. Even dogs can practice good self-care and entertain themselves for hours by chasing their tails. Play and thus good self-care comes easier when a game can be made out of most anything.

      Finally, we cats practice good self-care by showing our feelings. When we are threatened, we hiss, arch our backs and sometimes even growl. When we want to be petted or picked up, purring and circling through a human's legs often gets the job done. Yes, we may seem to demonstrate our feelings by looking at a human like s/he is dumb. But if a human values a cat's opinion to determine self-worth then s/he should spend more time looking within himself or herself and less time staring at a cat. Perhaps when I'm not practicing good self-care, I'll blog about that topic.

 

Since Curtis Q Purrhead III was busy practicing good self-care, he had his human (Jane Freund) type up this blog post for him. So here's her story: Jane Freund is an author, speaker and book coach based in Boise, Idaho. She has written or co-written 16 print, audio and electronic books including "Best Friend Worst Enemy – Overcoming Self-Sabotage in YOUR Life" and "Wily Riley the Coyote Conqueror". Previously, Jane taught Communication for ten years at Boise State University. Her books can be found at https://www.etsy.com/shop/JaneFreundship and on Amazon. You can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/janefreundauthorspeakerandbookcoach. Also, you can find Curtis Q Purrhead III on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/curtisqpurrheadIII (and his page has more likes than Jane's does).

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Happy Running!