My kitten is officially seven months old. This is crazy to me, as it feels like I only picked her up and took her home yesterday. But time has flown, and she's now more cat than kitten. This thought makes my heart hurt a little.

This is starting to sound a little bit like I'm planning on becoming cat lady a few years down the road (although it really doesn't sound like too bad of an option if I'm really being honest here), but that's not what I really wanted to talk about. I want to share a few things I've learned since I got my fur-baby.

1. Love is an open door.

I've learned to open up... any closed door I'm behind, that is. Privacy isn't an option when you have an animal that acts like it hasn't seen you in five years if you close a door for more than a minute.

2. Make time for a cuddle session.

I've learned that cuddling is never not an option. Especially when I've been sitting still long enough for her to jump in my lap, lie down and start napping (this is approximately a five second time span).

3. Remember that old saying about beans being a magical fruit? It's true.

I've learned to have a new appreciation for beans. Specifically little kitty toe beans, of course. They come in all sorts of shapes and colors, and you know a kitty really likes you when they let you touch them.

4. I've learned laundry is a lot more fun when you have a friend helping out.

Granted, it's a lot harder to fold my laundry now, because if I turn my back for a second, it's back on the floor and a certain someone has covered it in fur.

5. Childhood games never really go out of style.

I've learned that even though I'm technically an adult, hide-and-go-seek is still a viable pass time for me. Especially when your playmate forgets the three spaces you have to hide in around your apartment.

6. I've learned that there won't be a day that goes by that I won't have something funny to laugh at.

Whether it be a funny position I find my kitten sleeping in, her obsession with climbing on my bungee chair like a monkey, or that one time she was chasing her jingle ball across the living room so intensely that she ran into my table, I know there's always going to be something to smile about.

7. "Sorry, I'm saving my money right now."

I've learned some financial responsibility, as new toys for my kitten come before new shoes. More accurately, one of those tall cat castles for her to perch on.

8. I'm a sucker when it comes to my kitten begging for food.

I've learned that either I'm an amazing cook, or my kitten is really good at swindling food out of me. My meal time is her meal time, and then her actual meal times put on top of that.

9. I no longer have to sleep in on the weekends.

I've learned that along with my kitten, I also got an alarm clock, because between the hours of 5 and 7, my kitten is sure to see that I'm up to feed her on time. You're lucky you're cute, kitty.

10. There's nothing quite like being the only human your animal really loves.

Finally, I've learned that no matter the day I've had, I always have something that loves me to come home to.

So if you feel like you have what it takes to own (or be owned) by your own fur baby, I strongly recommend you check out the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter! There are lots of loving animals there just waiting for you to be their new mom or dad.