525,600 minutes and a somersault …

It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I’ve said it before and I’ll definitely keep saying it, again & again. Although, as I’ve aged — I’ve become more confident in knowing mistakes are okay — though, that does not necessarily take the pressure of myself to perform and/or be perfect.

For many of you in my inner circle, you know I started a new job at an exclusively feline veterinary clinic in August — the switch from my previous clinic to current was planned although was somewhat sudden. And, the transition period has been somewhat challenging. Not only did my shifts change (goodbye 10 hour shifts, hello 8 hour shifts + 60 minute lunch breaks) but so did my uniform (goodbye scrubs, hello “business casual”) and my daily routine that I’d come to cherish. Everything tipsy turvied overnight. Plus, in this new role — I’m a Lead aka I have to really hone in, pony up, and buckle down — leading a team through some changes that are long overdue (and asked for — don’t worry I’m not one of those leaders).

So, as I’ve continued to transition into this new role, I’ve kept up with my business (which I now faithfully call my “big kid” job) & my clients, picking up shifts at my former clinic, and my normal life stuff (you know — being married, caring for the kids [the cats], house stuff, bills, self-care, etc.). And, to say the transition has taken a bit of a toll on me would be an understatement. But, we all have to go through challenges — of course, we do. And — well, that’s not at all what I’m here inspired to write about tonight.

I’m here, inspired, by my cats. Yes, I know insert dramatic eye roll — I’m talking about my cats, again. But- I swear, stick with me — I have good reason.

It was 7:30pm and I was brushing my teeth when I thought to myself, “I have a bit of energy leftover, why don’t I play with the kids”.

Enter — Delia. Our 1 year old spitfire who this time last year was homeless, living in the cold & eating out of garbage cans (well, probably- I haven’t actually asked her yet what her diet was). And, now — she’s the most settled house cat we have. So, I picked up her favorite toy and got to flip floppin’ it around. When I tell you this girl is a gymnast, you have to believe me. Tonight, she did a perfect somersault onto the bed from the floor to catch “feather”. I was roaring with laughter — not only by her playfulness and ability to forgo all thoughts for “feather” but that she was helping me be in the moment too. After she was huffing and puffing, I thought “Okay, bedtime”.

Wrong. Enter — Oojie. Our 7 year old who loves play but thinks of play as “lay on the ground and smack the ball as it rolls by” which is honestly low-key boring so it’s hard to be motivated to play with her. Well, tonight she did her little “coo” “chirp” “purrup” as I walked down the hall and she marched me straight to the toy bin. A bit defeated, thinking already, “This is just going to be another one of those” — she perked up when I grabbed a new toy for her. Okay, yes — she still kind of did the “lay on the ground” bit — but she also did a few big jumps and that sort of cat crawl on the bottom of the couch that doesn’t have a name but is adorable. Well, this action got our next cat involved.

Enter ‘Maggie’. This child who is 4 years old was rescued from an apple orchard back in 2023. Maggie is a wild woman and if you don’t believe me when I tell you that this cat has got the LEAPS and can GET AIR — I have the photo proof (see below). And, well, she was going ham tonight. This girl was flying feet up in the air, reaching new heights and exploring new moves — doing spring flips and putting Air Bud to shame. Plus, Oojie was fully invested. And, at some point, Delia was too — and there we were sitting on the ground, the three torties & I, just laughing and living fully in the moment, together.

It immediately had me go ‘oh my god — I forgot about everything’ for even just a few minutes (ok it was only 5 minutes that I had forgotten about everything else) but it was glorious. All in all, we played for almost a whole hour and it went by so fast, I didn’t even remember to look at the clock.

The dopamine rush I got from MY CATS — boom, magic, purrfect.

So, why am I blabbering on at you?

Well — next time you’re thinking you’ll just brush your teeth and go to bed like you always do — consider who is around you that may need you, more than you need bed.

Imagine what just 5 minutes to them is to you. Let me do that math for you — because obviously ….

{Okay if a cat lives on average 12 years …. that’s 1 year → 525,600 minutes x 12 = 6,307,200 minutes….. so 5 divided by 6,307,200 = 0.00000079% … VERSUS if a human lives on average 75 years … that's 1 year → 525,600 minutes x 75 = 39,420,000 …. so 5 divided by 39,420,000 = 0.00000012% …. which is a 148% difference}

This is my brain working in real time and I gotta be honest math is not my strong suit & I definitely only know there are 525,600 minutes in a year thanks to Rent. I thought maybe this math problem would make some grandiose point of how time is so much more precious to cats than humans but I think I’ve failed to make that point.

So, I offer this in exchange … what would 5 minutes to you be if you could sleep in just that much more, or gain 5 minutes back not having to pump gas each week, or gain back those 5 minutes spent brushing your teeth twice daily. It’d be hugely beneficial to you — RIGHT? Therefore, think about how valuable 5 minutes is to a cat who doesn’t have to go to work, stop at the gas station, pay bills, wake up to an alarm, and who has a significantly shorter life span than you.

So yeah — maybe the math fell apart but Oojie didn’t need math to know what we needed tonight. Therefore, neither do you.

Listen to your pets — follow their lead because they know more about you than you know about yourself.