It slows your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure and can reduce stress.
In the month's following our miscarriage, we knew we needed something in our lives for all the pent-up love to be outpoured into.
We considered a dog, but we both work full time and so wouldn't have been able to give it the quality time it deserved.
We thought for weeks and decided to visit our local RSPCA shelter and look at cats.
First, we met Quince.
He was a youngish cat, quite sociable but still quite independent.
He seemed lovely but was a little too frisky for us.
We knew we wanted to try again for a family and so the cat would have to be suitable to be around children. We thought Quince might lash out, even if just playfully, at an eager child.
Then we met Solomon.
He was quite elusive, hence no photo.
Showing no interest in people at all he just explored his surroundings. He might be a good cat for us but I also wanted a pet I could stroke a little.
Then we saw this feline staring back at us.
He looked jealous of us petting the other cats and stared until we went up to his glass pod.
The first moment we saw him, he had a bit of a derp on with his little tongue poking out.
He was called Sylvester.
The RSPCA thought he was around 6 years old and he didn't have much history at all. All they knew was that he came in with a dental injury - one of his fang teeth has been taken out.
When he was brought out of the pod, he immediately came up to us. He started rubbing against my handbag and then rolled over to have his tummy tickled - surprisingly without digging his claws in!
We really liked him!
We didn't want to make a decision straight away about whether he was the right cat for us, so we slept on it.
I went back on my lunch break a couple days later to visit him.
He was so cuddly and seemed to look up lovingly at me!
I really struggled to leave him.
He wasn't happy about it either and when it was time for me to go and I popped him back in his pod he wouldn't look at me.
We called up and reserved him. We knew we couldn't live without him.
On Friday an inspector came out to assess us and our home and gave the go-ahead for us to pick him up the following day.
A week after first meeting him, we were able to bring him home.
He HATED the journey back.
We'd read that it is good to slowly introduce a pet to your home and so we set up the utility room with everything he needed - bed, water, food and litter tray.
We let him out of his carrier into the utility room and he somehow managed to squeeze himself under the smallest gap in a cupboard to hide for the next few hours.
We took it in turns going in and sitting quietly in the room.
I found 'relaxing music for cats' on youtube to play for him, has a Feliway plugin that is meant to help calm nervous cats and we just read books, news articles or magazine snippets to him softly so he could get used to us.
After a little while, he came out from under the cupboard, sniffed Caz and quickly climbed on his lap and gave him cuddles.
We renamed him Walter - after Walter White in Breaking Bad but also because he has a 'W' mark on his forehead.
I feel Walter was picked for us by Jesse or some higher being.
He has been such a wonderful addition to our family; he really makes us smile each day.
When we get up in the morning he meows loudly for his breakfast.
He doesn't particularly like going outdoors as it is apparently too cold or too wet for his tastes.
When we arrive back from work he runs to the door and greets us meowing and wanting cuddles.
We have bought him many toys but he loves the free bouncy ball we got in a cracker. It is his most favourite thing in the world. He plays with that ball for ages every single day. Batting it around the house or occasionally carrying it in his mouth. He loves that ball!
He also loves his catnip fish toy!
He meows at us loudly on the weekends until we light the log burner for him to settle down in front of to fall asleep.
He loves nap time too! We sometimes go for a sleep on the sofa or bed on a weekend after tiring activities and he loves to join us and snuggle on to of us too!
Walter is just brilliant and is totally part of the family.
We can't even remember how life was before we had him. It really changes the atmosphere in the house and you've always got a little buddy to tell all your life worries to.
I'd definitely recommend going to your local rescue centre / pet shelter and considering giving one of the animals a second chance at life.
It will truly change your life.
This gets a derp of approval from Walter himself.
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