Our male Siamese seems to always know when I am in a funk. If I’m anxious, sad, angry, etc…etc… he always loves me up that much more than usual. I will be laying down on our bed and he’ll come up and give me a “look”… then let out a loud, quick Meow and then proceed to do something very curious. He’ll come up to my chest and pat it with one paw several times, then depending on the shirt I have on he’ll start to slide his paw over and over my chest as if digging, but not… Then he’ll walk up on my chest, do a few circles, and settle with his face right in mine, and start to pure to high heaven. This always makes me feel really at ease, and calms me right down.
So who else get’s a calming feeling from their feline, or canine owners?
Our cat, Dusty, does wonders for my mood. When she wants my attention she starts head butting me in the face until I return in kind. Nothing like a purring cat to bring your BP down a couple of points. My wife… Dusty usually bites her with no provication so it’s best to just say they share a different relationship.
My cat seems to know when I’m feeling ill or upset. I had an awful, awful case of the 24-ounce-flu yesterday morning. At one point, I was curled up on the bathroom floor between puking episodes, just wanting someone to shoot me. My cat NEVER comes into the bathroom… when he was a kitten, he’d always play in the empty tub, until an unfortunate incident involving Calvin running full speed into the bathroom, jumping on the side of the tub, and splashing into a full bath tub. He’s so frightened of the bathroom now that I had to move his litterbox out of it. Anyway, he wandered in and flopped down on the ground next to my stomach. Maybe it was the heat he was putting off, I don’t know, but within a few minutes, I felt much better. Good old Calvin.
Our female cat came with Mrs. Butler when I met her. She will often start the cuddling/extra attention TOWARDS (instead of demanding it FROM) her humans prior to us knowing we’re sick.
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She is also terrified of men. Except for me. The first time I went over to her place, the cat jumped right up on my lap, instead of hiding like she usually does. I’m certain that was my “in” with the now Mrs. Butler.
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My cat (male) is great for figuring out “bad moods,” and will park himself along side you, demanding belly/head rubs until you have no choice but to be in a better mood.
My dog will act completely goofy if I’m crying or upset. She’ll nudge me, roll around, play with her toys right in front of me, lick my face, try to knock me down (often succeeding), give me doggy kisses, and by that time I’m usually laughing my ass off. She’s a great comfort.
My dogs and cats often seem to sense that I am feeling low. When I am ill and depressed, they are a great comfort. Sometimes I am in so much pain that I don’t want to talk or interact with humans at all, but having some warm, fuzzy, nonverbal friends is a blessing.
Nothing is better after a hard day than to grab a beer and take the dogs for a walk. It’s an immediate mood lifter (well, only when the weather is nice).
When I’m upset (particularly if I’m crying), the younger dog will often bring me one of his toys. If my mood isn’t improved, he brings another, then another… It’s quite cute. My older dog, on the other hand, avoids me when I’m in a funk. It’s like she’s thinking “eh, she’s not gonna be any fun for while–time to find something to chew.”
Always. Both of my cats seem to just know. If I’m feeling down, not necessarily crying, but just feel down, or stressed, or even scared (like during a thunderstorm, which I have a phobia of), they wander over, look at me curiously, then do their own individual thing:
My youngest, the sweetest in temperament of the two, will purr like mad, rubbing her face all over my neck, and make me hold her on my shoulder (which is one of her favourite places to be, anyway, but she adds in the “kisses” only when I’m feeling down). My oldest girl, who normally loathes being touched, held, or petted unless she asks for it (and she is very vocal when she does ask), will come up to me silently, rub against my legs, hands, arms, whatever she can get close to, and eventually throw herself across my lap (unheard of!), close her eyes and begin her own mad purring. They also do this for my husband when he is upset.
Yes, frequently. One of the best things about having a dog is the effect that they have on your emotions, IMHO. My dog is a Springer Spaniel and is very touchy-feely as it is (whenever I’m camped out on the couch for example, he’ll jump up and curl up right next to me), but he seems to be able to sense when I’m angry, stressed or upset, and he’ll come over to me, nuzzle me or play-bite, and I find that playing with him or stroking his fur is a great stress-reliever.
Also, I find that if you’re having a crying-spell, or you just don’t want to deal with any other humans, throwing some old cushions and a throw-rug on the floor (at which the dog will come over and snooze on them), and lying down next to him with a good book or a writing journal is the best therapy!
Yes. Our dogs are wonderful at cheering me up. They always seem to sense when any of us here are upset. Our cats don’t seem to care too much. Only our oldest cat does come up to me and will want to cuddle when she knows I’m upset, but she’s about the only one of the four cats that actually pays enough attention to know.
I’d be lost without my furbabies! I love them all dearly.
The Bobbie dog was very empathetic and would lean on me or do a “dog hug” when I seemed upset. A very gentle, loving dog. It usually worked.
Joplin, on the other hand, is COMPLETELY self-absorbed and could give a rip about my feelings, it seems. I’ve been very stressed out lately because of major changes at my job, yet my stress seems to tick him off. He’s become more demanding – BARK (pay attention to me!), BARK (I’m hungry NOW woman!), BARK (let me outside!) – maybe it’s his way of saying “Snap out of it!”
We had a wonderful little red-legged running frog named Boo. For about a year Mr. Detritus worked on the road, so it was only Detritus and Boo most of the time in a new apartment in a new town, and I didn’t always have the best dreams. Boo, bless his little amphibious heart, would chirp very loudly to wake me up countless times from nightmares. He didn’t chirp a whole lot, and I never recall him waking me up from a good dream. Sweet little guy must’ve been disturbed by my bad dreams, and it made him holler until I woke up.
Damn, I miss that frog. I love my python, but snakes can’t chirp.
My pets have saved my life on several occasions. Not the way Lassie saved Billy in the well, more like providing non-judgemental, loving companionship and a reason to get up in the morning. I have quadruple redundancy so that in case of emergency, I will always have some fuzzy ballast to keep me on an even keel. I love my pets.
