So..what’s in a pet?

I am in love..deeply, passionately, completely. Yup…I’ve been unable to help myself this time…What’s different is that it’s me falling for something that is less than a year old and weighs about 5 pounds in all. She’s a fur ball of white stripes in a silky orange coat and viciously sharp claws and teeth. And her name is quite fitting with how she sometimes disappears in seconds from ones sight “like an illusion” -Maya.

When she first came home I used to follow her around like an anxious first-time parent watching her every move, jump and climb with her tiny paws. But she soon proved to be quite capable of looking after herself except for her silly habits of wanting to sleep in the litter box and squeezing into dark and impossibly tight corners anywhere in the house. Once she crawled underneath the stove and nearly gave me a heart attack when she had no clue how to come out. But she’s become quite the queen of my one-bedroom kingdom. No cockroaches or anything of (or resembling) the insect kingdom is spared. Initially she used to just corner them and kept poking them till I lost my patience and put the thing out of its misery. But lately I find dead and dissected insects and am quite proud of my insect hunting tigress.

I’ve been trying to clearly identify what I really feel for her and the exact relationship that we share (due to the lack of anything more significant in my life right now). Whether it’s all just the nurturing tendency of a pet owner? Whether it’s the joy of companionship in an inter-species friendship ;)? Or that of a proud parent with her beautiful (and impossibly naughty) child?

Well there are different aspects to it…The child-parent aspect is quite apparent when everything she does is translated into endearing and “unbearably cute” stories and shared with colleagues and friends (who listen like they are indulging a proud parent). Then there is this warmth she radiates when she comes and just plunks herself on your lap as if she always belonged there, or rubs her face against yours to wake you up. The way she stands on her hind paws and stretches on your leg reaching all the way up to your knees purring like a tractor in the field makes it hard to believe that the Homo sapiens- Felinae co existence is not what nature intended originally.

I’m beginning to realize that every animal I see, I relate to her. And that this has brought about a newfound responsibility and concern towards the animal kingdom in general. The terrified squirrel that was stuck inside a building at work, which kept running into walls and glass windows and doors trying to get out; the dozen yearlings (young bulls) gazing at me with those liquid trusting eyes from the other side of the fence; the numerous road-kill that one never realizes could be anything from the common deer to armadillos to the rare mole; even poor Dobby the elf from Harry Potter on his last breath reminded me of Maya.

Anyways other than all this mushiness about my “feeling” for her and my so called “drastic-attitude change towards animals” this last paragraph might help to answer the question “what’s so great about a pet?” a little more objectively.

Having a pet is like bringing up a child but with considerably less responsibility overall. For example one never wonders about the pet’s emotional state of mind and long term effects on its personality when you are whacking and screaming at her… all just for jumping over the kitchen counter and upturning the glass of milk. It is simple and straightforward when compared to most relationships. You give and receive love; actions and not mere words are expressed to show what we feel for each other; no promises are made or need to be kept; we both equally hurt each other, completely avoid each other for hours and still live in complete harmony under one roof with no hang ups from the past or expectations of the future.

So for anyone who is looking for an easy cure from loneliness and boredom I would recommend a pet with no hesitation whatever. Just be prepared for a lot of biting, scratching and an impossible amount of curiosity about everything you do along with pure unconditional love and trust that can surprise you sometimes with its sheer intensity.