I’ve had a new cat for about a month and it’s been great! She’s fitting into the house and our lives pretty well. It’s nice to have two cats in the house again and it got me thinking about why I love cats so much. After living with at least one and up to four my whole life, I think it’s safe to say I’ve gained some perspective.

Cats are so low maintenance and independent. You put out food, they’ll eat. You put out a scratching post, they’ll scratch that and not something else. They don’t need to be trained to use a litter box. For someone who is busy and out of the house for a lot of the day, cats are the perfect companion. It certainly worked out well for my family and will continue to work for me in the future. This isn’t an article to bash dogs and dog lovers, but just compare the amount of work you have to put into making sure your dog goes outside and is walked each day with cleaning out a litter box each morning. Just saying.

Cats are company. Even if they’re just sleeping somewhere, it’s nice to know you’re not alone. There’s the presence of another creature to comfort you. You can talk to them and they won’t talk back. Instead of just talking to yourself all the time, you have an audience of sorts. If they want company, they will come and find you. And if you want them to like you, as with any other friendship you need to put in the work. You need to feed them and pet them and do things to make them love you. Once you get to a good place, you will be able to call their name and they will come to you. They will say hello in whatever way they like to, and show their affection in whatever way they like to.

If you don’t like cats, chances are you’ve met one that doesn’t give the rest a good name. There are cats who don’t like people. Not all of them like to sit on laps or be picked up. Even someone who thinks they’re good with cats, like me, have had encounters with cats who do not immediately love them. There’s no perfect formula to get cats to love you. Why? Cats have very distinct personalities. Their purring and meows sound different. Their habits of where they like to sleep, what toys they play with, or how they act with people are very distinct. Some of them like people, and some of them don’t. They know what they want and are very insistent on getting that to the best of their ability.

I love cats. I’m planning to keep them in my life for as long as I can. They are very interesting and unique animals once you get to know them and spend time with them. Once you put in the work to bond, you will have a loyal, lifelong friend and companion.