Unfortunately: even our cats are fed up with us during the lockdown

One of the advantages of the lockdown and the curfew is that I can spend an ungodly amount of time with my best friend Pebbles. Now, there are indeed people with that name, but for me, it's a cat. And I tell her all day long that she is the sweetest and the most beautiful. Believe me, I wish this were a joke, but I am really as bad as a crazy cat lady. And even though she can't talk, meowing says enough, and I am convinced that she thinks I am also the sweetest and the most beautiful.

Or well, I was convinced of that. Because if I am to believe veterinarian Emmanuelle Titeux — and I would rather not — that sweet Pebbles is really completely fed up with me. This veterinarian told Vice.com that she has seen a significant increase in aggressive behavior from cats lately. Very inconvenient, because just since corona, the shelters are emptier than ever, as no one wants to sit at home alone. Pets really work great against loneliness. Do those pets ever get enough of all the attention? Nooo. Of course not.

“I have to deal all day with some idiot who keeps petting me on the neck. I am completely done with it.” Ouch. That is what the cats would say about us if they could talk, according to veterinarian Titeux. Oh, what does she know anyway? Unfortunately, professor of veterinary medicine Leanne Lilly completely agrees with her. According to her, the sudden change of, for example, working from home all the time is quite stressful for our meowing friends. In short: they are getting an overload of attention.

Especially house cats that do not go outside would have it extra hard. “Some cats are really completely fed up with people. They go crazy from being saddled with them all the time,” says Titeux. And you know, call me stubborn or having a board in front of my head, but I can completely relate to this and at the same time, I do not recognize myself in it at all. Nooo, my cat really does enjoy being forced to stay close to me all the time. Whoa, where is this going? I don't think so.

Now that I think about it, we may have become more the pets and the cats our masters. Or have we always been that way? They decide when they want to eat and when they want to hang out with you. That forcing doesn't really go smoothly, unless you like to get a scratch.

Let me end on a positive note: not all cats are fed up with us. PARTY. “There are still plenty of cats that do love people and enjoy playing with their owner – it just depends on the situation.” Ah, look at that. I can actually relate to this.

Oh yes, if your cat shows aggressive behavior (in other words, he/she is fed up with you), the veterinarian can prescribe fluoxetine. It calms them down. Don't know that stuff? It's also in Prozac, the antidepressant. A bit intense to have to prescribe that for your cat, but it's one of the options. Or take a break like Ross and Rachel.

Source: Vice