How adopting a cat helped me overcome anxiety
My love for cats comes from my mother, who has cherished these animals since she was a child. During my childhood, I lived with a couple of them—some were wild with me, others indifferent. When you're a kid, it's hard to interact properly with these felines. They're a peculiar kind of pet because they break the concept of loyalty we’re taught from an early age, a concept largely shaped by dogs.
I grew up surrounded by these animals, but I never felt a deep connection with one until a few years ago. I adopted a cat, and he’s taught me to appreciate many aspects of life—things that, at that point, had started to feel dull and meaningless to me.
Cats are detached from the world around them. They still feel affection for their owners, their kittens, and other feline companions, but they don’t express it the way other pets do. And it’s certainly very different from how we, as humans, do it. They don’t follow you around all the time, they ignore you, they don’t celebrate when you come home. Of course, it depends on the cat and how they’re raised, but most of the time, cats express themselves in a rather cold way.
Have you ever seen a dog lover try to bond with a cat? They expect them to be docile to respond when called by name. They mistake the cat’s aloofness for hostility when, in reality, it's just part of their nature. For many people, this is something impossible to accept—let alone understand.
That untamed attitude is one of the many reasons I love cats: because they are free and independent. Sometimes, it feels like the whole world is a giant hedonistic amusement park. Pleasure overrides everything else. They do whatever they want, whenever they want. A lifestyle that any mortal would envy at some point in their existence.
Vinicio came into my life about five years ago. The tiny white kitten fit in the palm of our hands, and his deep blue eyes looked like mesmerizing marbles. At first, he was very defensive, growling whenever we tried to hold him and hiding in the shadows of the bathroom where we kept him separated from my mom’s other cat—a potential danger to this tiny creature.
He gradually warmed up to us, and within a few weeks of being rescued, he ended up in my care due to unforeseen circumstances. It was supposed to be a temporary visit, just a few days, but no one in my house imagined that the guest would become a permanent member of the family.
From the very first day, the cat accepted us (because we like to think it's the other way around, but in the end, the cat is the one who chooses us). He was comfortable with our presence and quickly adapted to the space and the rules.
As for me, I was fascinated by everything he did. I got lost in the way he interacted with his environment and how it evolved over time.
It all coincided with a difficult phase in my life: I had a lot of free time, was unemployed, and had just started psychiatric treatment for anxiety. Spending time with Vinicio was incredibly therapeutic, from feeling the vibrations of his purrs to laughing at his mischief and the little lessons he learned when he made mistakes. But what helped me the most was imagining life through his eyes.
Experiencing traffic through a cat’s eyes teaches us how much we isolate ourselves from everything around us when we’re in a car. We don’t perceive the terrible noise—the rattling, the roaring, the screeching. If we did, we’d lose our minds a little.
Writes Doris Lessing in Particularly Cats.
And that's the thing—cats have this unique ability (especially when they’re young) to be amazed by anything. To some, this might seem like a curse, but to me, it’s a gift. Because at some point, we humans stop finding joy in the little things around us. A cat can have endless fun with a scrap of paper, a dust bunny, or a bottle cap—without the need for more.
This cat can spend hours staring out the window, watching the shadows stretch across the pavement, the pigeons flying by, the palm trees swaying in the wind. These innocent behaviors, this way of observing the world, resonated deeply with me at a time when I was making a great effort to change my mindset, my perception of myself, and my appreciation for life. It also aligned with my growing interest in Buddhist philosophy, meditation, and its benefits.
Vinicio helped me understand what it means to be present, to recognize the beauty in simplicity, and to be grateful for every minute I get to spend watching the world through my bedroom window. Since he arrived, fortune has seemed to smile upon me. But rather than seeing this as something mystical, I view it as a shift in perception—fortune was always there; I just started noticing it.
Very few things compare to the feeling of petting a cat and hearing them purr. That’s why, no matter what happens, I will always be grateful for that white, blue-eyed cat who crossed my path by sheer coincidence and reminded me how important it is to live with the excitement of seeing everything for the first time.
🙇 There's so much we can learn from animals. Thanks for reading.