If you know me, or if you’ve read some of my other articles, you’re aware that I have mental illnesses and that I’m very vocal about them. You’re probably also familiar with my cat, Blue, if you’ve kept up with my life.

Blue is a sweet, rambunctious, and chatty kitten, but he also serves a very important purpose in my life: he’s an emotional support animal, or ESA.

Like I’ve previously discussed, I have depression and anxiety, and both can be extremely difficult to cope with at times. I’ve largely been able to do so via therapy, medication, and my own personal growth, but I’ve also relied on my pets to provide a unique kind of unconditional, silent support in some of my darkest times. The love that my pets have provided me with was unlike anything else I’ve experienced, and I value and care for them all the more for this.

When I went off to college, I wasn’t able to bring my dogs with me (nor would I have wanted to separate them from the rest of my family), which was an unusual change for me to have to accept since I’ve had pets my entire life. Every time I went home, I was always ecstatic to see my dogs, and every time I left, it was so hard to say goodbye.

Last year, my mental illnesses were particularly tough to deal with, and I found myself continually yearning for the companionship I’d had with my dogs. I decided then that I wanted to look into the process of obtaining an ESA, especially as I knew a friend from high school whose cat was her ESA. I first decided to talk with her just to see if having an animal companion would be helpful to me and to understand what the process was like from the perspective of someone who actually went through it. She told me all about how much her cat means to her and how much he helps her and what he does for her when she’s feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or depressed; after our conversation, I realized that my family’s pets had made me feel the same way that my friend’s cat did with her, and I made the decision to personally look into the laws and rights surrounding ESAs and read more about the actual process of obtaining an ESA.

Clearly, I’ve done my research. I know about the privileges and restrictions surrounding these animals, and I know what steps are necessary in order to be approved. I had (and wanted to) talk with my therapist, who I’ve been seeing for about a year now, over multiple sessions about why I wanted an emotional support animal and why I felt like this would benefit me. I then had to pay a fee and wait two weeks for him to write an official letter stating my medical need for an animal in my space; after receiving it, I had to then contact my landlord, explain to him what kind of pet I wanted and why, as well as present him with a copy of the letter, and then wait for his own approval of my having a cat in a no-pets apartment.

So, as you can see, I had to follow certain laws and instructions in order to legally obtain an ESA, which means you can also understand when a) people think I’m faking my mental illness just so I can have a pet in a no-pets policy apartment and when b) other people try to claim their animals as ESAs when they clearly don’t need them and just want to get around certain rules—mostly ones that exclude animals being allowed in certain spaces/institutions. However, if these people who actually are lying knew the laws surrounding ESAs, they would know that they are only permitted to live in no-pets policy apartments and to fly on planes rather than have to be boarded.

I have legitimate medical reasons to need my cat as a source of love and as a light at the end of a sometimes very long, dark, and terrifyingly lonely tunnel. He has helped me through anxiety attacks and depressive episodes countless times; when I am crying, he either comes and curls up in my lap to cuddle with and calm me down, or he brings me toys to play with to help make me laugh, take my mind off of my stressors, and cheer me up.

He serves a purpose other than just being a pet. He truly is a companion, rather than just a pet.

I rely on my cat for emotional support just as much as he relies on me for care and love.