I am blessed to have the greatest roommate in the world. She’s my late night study buddy, my shoulder to cry on, my secret-keeper, and my other half. I don’t know how I made it through the first 18 years of my life without her. But it isn’t just her and I sharing our cramped dorm room. We also have a cat.

I was so excited when my roommate told me she was bringing a registered therapy animal to live with us. While I did have a few minors concerns (i.e. litter box smell), I was super open to the idea of sharing our room with an adorable pet. She truly is the sweetest cat in the world, but life with a cat in your dorm has both upsides and downsides.

You’ll be instantly popular.

People are always knocking on your dorm door just to visit your cat. “The Girls with the Cat” become your pseudonym as floor mates bring their family and friends into your dorm to see for themselves “The Cat on the Floor.”

You never have to sleep alone.

Bad nights are never lonely because there is always a bundle of fur ready to join in on a nap or settle down for the night. Her purring is often loud enough to drown out the sounds of your stressful college tears and she’ll soothe you to sleep.

There’s always someone watching you change.

If you like eyes on you at all times, whether its sleeping or changing or having an emotional breakdown, then put a cat in your dorm room! They’re always watching and silently judging.

You’re always greeted at the door.

She has little to no consideration for the fact that you might be rushing to class so her leg rubbing is tripping you. But at the end of a hard day, coming home to something that loves you unconditionally and is always ready to snuggle, is the greatest therapy.

It’s hard to do homework in your room.

She’s always eager to play when I want to do my work! But luckily it’s easy to get a babysitter for her, when I can’t take her incessant meowing or running around any longer. All I have to do is toss her in the room across the hall and the girls tire her out with attention and a laser pointer.

She finds the weirdest places to hide!

In an overstuffed dorm room, you wouldn’t expect the cat to have many places to go and hide. If there is a tiny gap between the wall and any piece of furniture she’ll get herself stuck and cry until you find and rescue her.

Hair will be everywhere! You don’t realize how much there is in every crevice of the room until you vacuum the carpet. The reality is that we live in a dorm where every surface has a light dusting of white, black, and brown cat hair.

At first, a cat in a dorm room sounds like a bad idea, with the litter box, and the hair, and the potential scratches on yourself, furniture, shoes etc. But they are called “therapy pets” for a reason. Your dorm can feel so much more like home with an adorable and cuddly pet waiting for you. Adjusting to a new college life and battling homesickness is so much easier when you have furry support.