Pawsome Parenthood: 5 Women Share How Life Changed After Becoming A Cat Parent

Warning: This blog contains excessive amounts of cute cat pictures, so you might be glued to the screen for a while.

I don’t even remember when was the last time I dared to wear something black. The last attempt ended in a catastrophic encounter with Lailah’s white fur. If you are wondering who’s Lailah, that’s my 4-year-old cat baby. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that she’s the Gordon Ramsay of the feline world. With her grumpy expression, it is hard to tell if she’s silently judging your soul or just simply thinking about dominating the world. Yet, nothing stops me from loving her with all my heart. It’s International Cat Day today, so I thought why not reach out to other pawsome cat moms and know how their feline babies changed their lives. 

Nirali Shah - Content Strategy Consultant

Mom to Kaju Catli and Chotu Catli

“In so so many ways. I have learnt to love someone who doesn’t love you back and if that doesn’t make you grow as a human I don’t know what will. Jokes aside, having a cat makes you proficient in love languages you didn’t previously understand. How being licked by a spiky tongue means “you’re disgusting but you belong to me.” How having a cat gnawing on your hand while lying in their back means “I trust you explicitly but I also want to give you permanent scars.” How knocking all your precious things on the floor means “wake up I miss you”. Or at least that’s what we can tell ourselves to explain why we’re obsessed with these furry little monsters.”

Pankhuri Harikrishnan - Founder & Director, Fetch Consulting

Mom to Pablo

“So we were already pet parents as we have a dog . However, a cat coming in changed our life in a way that we realised they don’t love on demand they have their own lovely way of showing affection. It’s been a wonderful journey because now we have a cat, dog and rabbit that live together.”

Bhakti Mehta - Chef & Founder, The Little Food Co.

Mom to Gogo and Mango

“I am an accidental pet parent. They were my brother & sister in law’s cats. They moved to Singapore 3-4 days before the first lockdown in 2020. The cats were with me assuming a temporary 2 month period. Until then my role in their life was a playful aunt. Instead, we landed in a global pandemic, the world shut down and I lived by myself.. but I wasn't ALONE. They saved me. It was just them and me in the pandemic and that’s how I became a pet parent.

I had never thought of keeping pets ever in my life - it wasn't in my life plan. Today I can't imagine another way.

As someone who wouldn't pet a dog, I now am very aware of street cats & dogs and pets and am far more compassionate.

Laetitia Warjri - Head of Communications & Outreach, Observer Research Foundation

Mom to Tingu and Dobby

“One big thing is that my life now has a set routine thanks to the cats. I feed them twice a day and clean their litter boxes at a certain time every night. So my schedule is worked around these timings. 

What has changed is how I've arranged my flat. No standing lamps. No live flowers or plants because one of my cats is an overactive boy who knocks things down and chews things up. I've also stopped hoping to have a full night's sleep because my cats jump on the bed and perform somersaults on top of me at the crack of dawn!”

Ayesha Amin Nigam - Fashion Stylist

Mom to Bat

"Well I am far more careful about his vet visits and general health of this one, I’ve learnt a lot from my previous cats. More importantly he’s my husbands first proper cat and he is completely obsessed with Ayush. Even though I am the one who rescued him (the cat not Ayush). So I am definitely the back up human"