Taking a Blogging Break for a Few Days

It's been a rough week for Mum and so she's taking a blogging break for a few days. This means unfortunately that tomorrow's Caturday Art Blog Hop has been cancelled.

We are so sorry to disappoint, but as many of you know, it's all been getting a bit too much for my mum and she's been struggling a lot lately for various reasons. She just wants to take a few days off to think more clearly about certain personal stuff going on in her life right now. She has some decisions to make regarding a few things.

BUT THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BLOGGING THOUGH.

She is not about to give that up. It's one of the things that keeps her going (and me of course). It's just that she hasn't been able to focus much on anything lately.

And her computer has been acting up again, so she is trying to sort that out too. The house selling has been nothing but a nightmare so far as well. And she needs to focus on what to do next because that's what has been getting her down the most. 

So, I suggested a few days off to recharge her batteries. And of course, I am looking after her. I am making sure she gets all the rest she needs and I am by her side all the time, purring and snuggling with her. I've even started to chase after the red dot at night just to make her laugh.

Hope you understand 😽

Here are a few of my photos from the past week on Instagram.

Goodnight 😽#cats #instacat_meow #tabbiesofinstagram #tabbiesoftheworld #catlife #catlover #ilovemycat #athena

A post shared by Athena (@athenawisekitty) on Aug 7, 2017 at 3:30pm PDT

Happy #internationalcatday 😽😻🐾💕#catsrule #tabbiesofinstagram #catsoftwitter #tabbiesofig #catblogger #felinebeauty #cats_of_instagram #beautifulcat #tabbylove #greeneyes

A post shared by Athena (@athenawisekitty) on Aug 8, 2017 at 8:21am PDT

Hiding! #cats #tabbycat #tabbiesofig #catsoftwitter #tabbiesrule #catsforever #catsdaily #catslife

A post shared by Athena (@athenawisekitty) on Aug 10, 2017 at 10:40am PDT

5 Ways Cats Are Great Therapy for Depression & Anxiety #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

This week (8th to 14th May) is Mental Health Awareness Week 

Many of you will know that Mum has struggled with depression on and off for most of her life. And if you've read her memoir The Cat Years: How My Cat Soulmates Saved Me, you will know that what helped her the most throughout her struggles was having a cat by her side. 

Cats, and indeed any pet, make life so much better, as many animal lovers would agree!

Here are 5 Ways Cats Are Great Therapy for Depression & Anxiety

Purring is healing... 

Purrs soothe and can undoubtedly help to alleviate any stress and anxiety. In our case, I'm there for Mum when she needs me and I will purr extremely loudly because I am quite the purring machine. I love to see the affect I have on her. She feels calmer, happier, and loved. It makes me calmer and happier to see her like that.

Mum not only struggles with depression but also suffers from social anxiety and sometimes a little agoraphobia too so she has to stay at home and is unable to work. That's why she wants to work from home as a writer and blogger. She doesn't mind sharing this info on this blog as mental health problems should be discussed openly and not stigmatised. Raising awareness for mental health issues and animal rights is something she truly believes in and nothing will stop her in helping these causes that are dear to her heart.

The love of a great cat

Unconditional love... 

My mum knows that I love her unconditionally. Yes, I rely on her for my food, but that's not the point. I don't judge her. I understand her. I know what she's all about. I know her soul deeply. She's the same with me. There is nothing she will not do for me. 

Animals don't care what you look like, what you wear, what car you drive, what you do for a living, how much you earn or whether you're single or married. We love you for YOU!

Just look into our eyes and you will see true love radiating from our eternal soul. Nothing else. No judgement. Just pure love. 

Look into my eyes

Stroking soothes... 

I don't mind Mum stroking me and kissing me if she needs to. I very rarely disapprove. If I don't feel up to it, I'll soon let her know with the thrashing of the tail. 

As she usually wakes up in a bad mood, seeing me on her bed staring up at her with love, her face always lights up and she will begin stroking me and then will be kissing me until it's time to get up. I let her have this precious time for both of us and then it's straight downstairs for breakfast or else!

The love of a great cat works wonders on the soul

Funny feline antics... 

I have many sides to me. I can be an elegant goddess or cat model posing for my fans one minute and a clown the next. In this playful mood, I do silly things that make Mum laugh. I can be ridiculously hilarious. Sometimes I don't know what comes over me, and this is with no catnip involved! Mum has captured my crazy antics many times and they are available for all my public to see on my YouTube channel. 

I'm a little crazy but so what?

Inspiration...

Cats are muses and inspire humans to get creative. My mum is already a creative soul, but with depression comes a creative block and she loses any desire and passion for creating. She doesn't write books anymore, but when we met in 2011 she had been preparing to self-publish her novels. I'm happy that she achieved this in 2012. 

A writer needs a cat

With the novels finally published, I then inspired her to write her memoir. After that, we wrote A Forever Home For Athena together, which is my rescue story, some of it fictional, to help raise funds for the charities we support. Mum also wrote another cat story, The Snowflake Pendant featuring the fur daughter before me, Suzy, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 1998. 

Suzy, the star of The Snowflake Pendant

Mum is too busy to write other books right now as she has to maintain two blogs (again, it was I who inspired her to start pet blogging) And she's also found a new passion in life - photography. No need to guess who set that passion alight, hey?

With my photogenic looks, she has the purrfect model to keep that passion burning (as long as it's only me she photographs 😸

I am so photogenic

I also inspired her to take up afternoon napping. We nap together for a couple of hours in the afternoons to recharge our batteries. Before anyone remarks that Mum is lazy, don't forget that she's always up at 4:30 am to feed me!

My Mum's memoir

(available from Amazon in paperback and for Kindle)

Melt Your Heart Monday

Happy Monday!

We hope your Monday is stress free but even if you have a lot of stress in your life, or suffer from depression like my mum, I'm sure your pet helps you enormously. We don't need any scientific facts to prove what animal lovers have known all along, do we?

Animals, especially those you choose to share your home with, are great relievers of stress and can help people with mental health issues like depression and anxiety cope better.

Here is a short clip of me helping Mum with her stress and anxiety issues the other day. 

Watch on YouTube if you can't view it here.

 

 How do your companion animals help improve your health?