This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Esurance. The opinions and text are all mine.
If you would have told me six months ago that not only would we have a cat running around our house, but that I would love and adore this cat as much as our two Pomeranians I would have laughed in your face! You see, I’ve had a strong dislike of cats for decades. I think it all started around the age of four.
When I was four years old, some family friends had a litter of adorable kittens that I spent hours doting on. Inevitably, I received a lot kitten scratches during our playtime and those scratches turned into Cat-Scratch Disease–which I recognize sounds totally fake but trust me, it is real. Google it. I required several courses of antibiotics and a week’s worth of bed rest!
Then there was the time when I was five and tried petting my babysitter’s Siamese cat. The cat didn’t care for my affection and bit a hole in my arm. Around this time, I also discovered that I had a pretty severe allergy to cat dander and that sealed the deal. I decided it was better for me and for cats to just go our separate ways.
For the most part, I did a good job of keeping my end of the deal and avoided interacting with cats. That is until college. One of my college friends had a very cool apartment in Philadelphia and unfortunately visiting her in her cool apartment also meant visiting her two cats. While spending the night on her pull out sofa, her cats mocked me by taking turns attacking my feet all night long. That was it! I did not like cats and found them all to be mean, sneaky, and unpredictable brats that were out to get me. I was actually grateful for my severe allergic reaction to them because it helped me save face with their owners who inexplicably loved these little demon beasts.
Fast forward to one fateful day this past February, Sprockets came into our lives in the most unexpected way! This little feral kitten snuck into my husband’s car engine at work, rode home in the engine for 30 minutes at speeds up to 70 MPH, received a broken femur somehow in the process, and forever changed my heart towards cats! If you want to learn the whole story about Sprockets, I encourage you to read my post Sprockets: The Kitten in the Engine. It’s a good story!
Even though my heart was smitten with this injured baby cat, I knew that he couldn’t live with us. Baby cats grow up to be adult cats and adult cats bite, scratch, are moody, and destroy your furniture. I warned my boys and my cat-loving man to not get too attached. And besides, I was still severely allergic to cats! We weren’t keeping this kitten and that was final.
That was 6 months ago, and as I type this I currently have the most lovable and adorable cat there ever was batting at my hands, begging to be pet. And yes, I’m not proud of it, but that’s a picture of me donning a kitty Snapchat filter while holding my kitty! Somehow I’ve turned into a crazy cat lady who not only loves my own cat but genuinely feels affection for cats in general.
Owning a cat has been the most surprisingly painless experience of my life! It’s been a fantastic reminder for me to keep an open mind about things I normally think are going to be unpleasant—things like going to the dentist, dealing with my boys’ becoming teenagers, and shopping for the best car and home insurance! Esurance is a company that makes protecting your most valuable assets from your car to your home surprisingly painless! I’ve always thought that insurance should be easy and now it is. You can do all the quote comparing you need in minutes using the simple and free tools provided on the Esurance site! Comparing quotes means saving money, and saving money means more dollars in your pocket to spend on cat toys! Just kidding…kind of. Check out Esurance for yourself and see how surprisingly painless, simple, easy to use, and affordable insurance can be!
Cristy says
Wow – the same thing happened to me. I absolutely hated cats and had my whole life, that is until our sweet Nala entered our lives. I LOVE her and can’t believe how different I am now. Thanks so much for sharing. Your kitten is adorable!!!
Kristine says
i have seen some adorable cat photos on blogs, but Sprockets is truly a stand-out! I love the picture of him sleeping on your son while he reads. I hope you have many years of love and joy with Sprockets. I am off to read the WHOLE story! (Yes, we own 3 cats – 2 were feral!)
Beth says
Thank you so much! He’s been a great addition to the family.
Sata says
So adorable!! Do you still have allergies ?
Ellen from Ask Away Blog says
Aw your kitty cat is so precious!!!!