Like many people mildly obsessed with their pets, I babbled about my cats on Facebook. I told jokes about the silly antics my cats do. I rambled about my foray into fostering and the excitement upon adopting the boys. A number of my friends responded positively to my ramblings and found it funny; several said, “Hey, you should turn this into a blog!”
Eventually I did, and I grabbed content from when I fostered and adopted Charlie and Garrus as a starting point, hence the back-dated content starting in August 2017. Originally, I intended to keep a rather lighthearted tone, with fun pet-themed holidays and humor-laced posts. These posts will still occur (otherwise it will be boring and too serious) but the blog has blossomed into something bigger. Consequently, here are some of the reasons I can now think of for writing Purry Home Companion:
- Pet-related holidays. Some of them are humorous and fun. Many of them are concerned about adopting pets, ensuring they receive proper veterinary care, and advocating for responsible pet ownership. Others raise awareness about certain breeds or types of animals, including endangered species or misunderstood animals, like black cats, which, of course, are very dear to my heart.
- Cat behaviors. Two of my cats can be reserved and skittish, and I am working with both to socialize and lessen their anxiety. My third cat, Boudicca, is a senior. My late cat Nala had diabetes and arthritis in her twilight years, and her temperament was wildly different than the others. I can write about attempting to understand cat personalities and behavior.
- Animal shelters. As an animal shelter volunteer, I promote adopting and fostering animals from shelters. In the cat room, I socialize cats, get to know their personalities, and play matchmaker with potential adopters. By doing this, I help cats find the right home and reduce the frequency of animals being returned to the shelter. This is a win for everyone involved.
- Responsible pet ownership. As a volunteer, I also speak with potential adopters about responsible pet ownership and answer questions they may have about caring for cats. Although I have owned cats for years, I am always willing to learn something new and improve the quality of my cats’ care, so that is another reason why I write posts about responsible pet ownership.
- Animal welfare advocacy. Because I love animals, I advocate on their behalf. I speak out against animal cruelty, abuse, and neglect.
- Debunking cat myths. There are a number of myths and beliefs about cats, many of which are incorrect. I plan to write about and disprove these.
- Humor. Let’s face it, sometimes pets do ridiculous things that we cannot help but laugh at. Hopefully I’ll be able to capture a photo in time and write about it too. A little humor goes a long way and makes the world a little brighter.
Purry Home Companion 