Life Lessons from my Old Cat – Never Quit!

Yesterday I was preparing my household for a week long vacation.  At my house, that means farming out my animals to their respective pet sitters.  My two dogs, Parker and Trent almost always spend their time with my amazing friend (and a super veterinary technician) Carolyn.  She and her husband graciously take care of my boys whenever I have to go out of town.  They live on a beautiful property with their two dogs, some cats (don’t ask how many), and three horses - so my dogs always have a wonderful time.  I feel so blessed that I have them.   

 

Then there is my old cat, Peter, who is 18 ½ years old and battling cancer.  He is essentially in hospice care, but he does not know it.  He is a sweet-natured strange looking cat, with a skinny little head, too plump body, and very long skinny legs.  He is genuinely one of the sweetest things that has ever walked the earth, but he is distinctly unattractive.  Peter gets to stay at work with my fabulous veterinary team, and they treat him like royalty. They give him an entire exam room to stay in each night so he can move around and stretch his old arthritic joints.

Moving Peter to work for his vacation stay started me thinking about how he refuses to quit.  He has had cancer for well over a year now, and he hasn’t really noticed. He happily eats what he is served, purrs when petted, and rubs on his hairbrush to groom his scraggly fur.

Why is it that pets never quit? Why are they so amazingly brave and determined?

What lessons can we learn from Peter?

Do not feel sorry for yourself.  Whatever negative things you are handling today, there is always someone that is dealing with something more.  Remember that life is going to be difficult at times, but we can learn a great deal from difficulties.

Do not relive or focus on the past.  Realize that when you are dealing with something in your past, you have no superpower to change it.  Feel it, study it (briefly), learn the lesson that it was put there to teach you, then let it go.   Living there is a waste of time.

Let go of the excuses.  You can always come up with a reason to give up, but if you look for a reason to keep going, you can find that too.  Creating excuses to quit will never lead you to the vision you need to succeed.

If you quit at little things, you are training your brain to quit on everything.  Persevering in every little thing, will train your brain to succeed.  Everything you do in your life that is truly worthwhile takes some focused effort.  Quitting derails the focus on your goals and leads to a life without challenge and purpose.

People often complain, gripe, and worry about the smallest things.  Let’s learn a lesson from our cats, like my Peter, and refuse to quit.

Dr. Julie Cappel

“Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up.” – Rocky Balboa

Join me on the Podcast - The Veterinary Life Coach Podcast with Dr. Julie Cappel 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-veterinary-life-coach-podcast-with-dr-julie-cappel/id1451549730?mt=2