Several of us have had to leave our beloved pets behind in order to live in the residence halls on campus. If you live or have lived in a dorm where your pet is allowed to live there as well, consider yourself lucky. Your poor furry/scaly/whatever kind of animal you have babies do not understand that the dorms won't allow you to bring them with you and sadly, you can not explain it to them. However, if my cat could read or fully understand me, there are a few things I would tell him.
For starters, I would be sure he knew that most freshmen at my college, including myself, are required to live on campus. I would pick my fur baby over any random roommate assignment that the registration office would bestow upon me. However, having him here would more than likely get me in serious trouble if not kicked out of my room completely. This was actually one of the things I dreaded about starting college.
Since I have had my two year old tom cat since he was just barely weened, he sometimes gets a bit of separation anxiety if my mother or I am gone for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, I can't always come home on the weekends. It is especially heartbreaking to leave home to go back to campus when my baby boy is being particularly affectionate or clingy. Although my mother does love him and provide for him well in my absence, he does tend to cling to me more since I spoil him the most. I wish he knew that even though I can't always guarantee exactly when I will be back again, I will always come back for him.
Even with various classes, student organizations, and social events filling up a good bit of my schedule, I do still think about my cat. Every stray I see around campus and even our live lion mascots make me miss my fur baby back home. When people talk about their pets, I am one of the first ones to start showing off pictures of him. It is weird going to sleep at night without him asleep on me, at my feet, or him somehow being able to take up over half of the bed space despite his weighing roughly seven pounds at the most. Sometimes I even miss him disrupting my reading, typing, and texting when he wants more attention. I guess it really is the little things we miss most!
Although I do not regret my decision to attend college, I do often wish my cat could be here, too, especially on particularly stressful days as finals rapidly approach. I am very happy with the new friends and memories I have made here. However, I am very much looking forward to the day I can live off campus and bring my boy with me.
