Curiousity made the cat a more well rounded individual

“Curiosity killed the cat,” We’ve all heard it. We’ve all probably said it at one point. Let me make this clear – I hate that saying. – Don’t get me wrong I’ve sat and watched my kitten make some relatively unsound choices in the name of curiosity – but who hasn’t? 

Why would you not want to foster curiosity in a person or child? 

Curiosity is an amazing force, and I for one am proud to be a curious person.

Ask anyone of my closest friends and they might at any point tell you something along the lines of “Caitlin knows a ton of weird facts,” or “Caitlin is the person I go to when I have a question about something I don’t want to ask other people.”

I might slightly pride myself a bit on these two things, because it’s true. My brain is an encyclopaedia of bizarre and obscure knowledge. I love being able to help my friends, or just to drop fun little facts here and there.

And here’s why….

I am curious as fuck. I love learning new things, weird facts, stuff that might not be common knowledge. If I hear someone talk about something I’ve never heard before – you better believe I’m sitting there googling it or making a mental note to google it later. I would 100% be surprised if I wasn’t on some sort of watch list for the weird stuff I’ve searched for over the years (although I sincerely hope I’m not). 

When I’m not googling something, I’m listening to podcasts, or watching documentaries, or weird youtube videos. Heck I’ve fallen down serious Wikipedia rabbit holes about pretty much every major royal family. 

Now I really hope I’m not shattering anyone’s image of an “all-knowing being” that is me, but honestly people – where did you THINK I learned this stuff. 

My point is this – knowledge is power, and while there’s some stuff I CHOOSE to be ignorant about. It never hurts to do your research, not to be the type of person who needs to correct people, but to just understand – for myself. No one likes that person who needs to correct people ALL THE TIME (did you understand what I meant? Then don’t be an asshole!)

I love people who are constantly learning and seeking new information like a sponge. Curiosity is what drives this for me, and I’m sure for others too. I like knowing “Why?” and “How come?” and in the world where the internet is at our fingertips, there’s no reason not to know. 

Here’s to being forever curious – and to also hoping my kitten makes good choices and stays alive.

Arthur making.... interesting choices

When in doubt... get more pets...

So I won't lie, when the crazy part of my brain whispered "you should get a cat" every rational part of my brain threw up red flags. You can't get a cat, you have a big fluffy white dog, whom you love, who has a super high prey drive.

Literally my brain began scrolling through all the reasons that it was a horrible idea - the crazy side of me kept whispering "but maybe it will be okay... get a cat..."

So I did it, against the rational and generally smarter part of my brain. Me and the crazy half roped my enabler friend Melissa into coming with us to get a cat (yes I feel like the crazy part of my brain is it's own character) enter Arthur.

This tiny black ball of wild fluff, he's funny and sweet and the PERFECT magnet for an Akita with a high prey drive. Anyways I went into it thinking - if this doesn't work Arthur will have to find a new home. Well a couple days of having him around was enough to know the little fluff was gonna be sticking around and the big fluff would have to figure out how to deal with it.

Anyways I won't lie about after the first week of Arthur being completely segregated to the spare room, I wasn't sure how the two animals would ever co-exist. I felt split in two, the one side with the unwavering loyalty to the dog I've loved for over ten years who would always come first, and the other half to this tiny little life that I'd committed to take care of and love.  It was awful.

Fast forward to now, a month into being a cat and a dog owner. over the past couple days I watched my 100lb dog continue to show great restraint with the tiny little 5lb kitten who insists on springing at her and wrapping himself around her legs (yes he loves her), yesterday I even had the courage to let them hang out without muzzling Briar (for Arthur's safety of course) I could not be more relieved, and the light at the end of the tunnel is bright.

Proof that with some patience and a lot of baby steps, anything is possible.