Who & What Defines Your Family?

The members of my family consists of my husband, one adolescent, one tween and Kitty. Many people wonder, why does my cat eat so good, why all the cat toys, why do we talk to the cat like a person, etc? Well, for many people and families, their pets are family, inclusive of having health insurance for the pets. In this article I will be discussing why and how pets become so important to us, it is just because of the children or the length of time the pet(s) are with us.

Well, Kitty is a family member, she wakes up at the same time Lexi gets up to get ready for school, Kitty has breakfast when Lexi has breakfast -- during the week and the weekends, Kitty knows it is bedtime, Kitty knows when everyone is due to come and waits by the door to greet us all with a quick meow and nuzzle.

Just like younger children, Kitty cries when she is ill, looks for comfort from all of us, much like a child Kitty will come to me (care giver, mom) to be babied and made well. Kitty also has temper tantrums, like a three year old, as Kitty is three years and like a child she will get "schooled" like a child. On certain days, Kitty awaits to see her favorite show with Lexi, America's Funnies Video's, and will sit with Lexi for the whole hour until it is over, just like Lexi.

Kitty loves us all, and we love her. I talk to her when I am home, as does the rest of the family. I know it sounds crazy, but the fact of the matter is that she is family. No one brushes her away, ignores her, in fact my children protect her as if she is a sibling. However, we all know that she is a cat, and all that entails. However, we all have become so attached to her that being without her will be a loss for everyone, not just one particular family members as we hear all the time, that a pet is usually more significant to one member of the family than the others.

Yes, it is true though, that there is one family member that Kitty is more attached to Kitty than the rest of us, Lexi; because she babies Kitty.

So, yes, pets are family members, they even have their own personalities, quirks, bad habits, how can they not become family members? Kitty is so much a part of our family that our neighbor says quite frequently that Kitty eats and lives better than some people she knows.