Blogtober 9

 Episode 9

 

Having anxiety, depression and frequent flare-ups of pain has caused me some difficulty when choosing the correct pet for me. It was with a lot of love, sadness and tears that I learned which animals were not ideal and what I really struggled with. I either thought that having a wee hamster named Psycho, for example, would have been a relatively easy pet – feel free to view her introduction post here.

Following becoming a mum to Psycho the hamster, I decided that I wanted something a little bit more cuddly and affectionate. I lived next to a Petsathome store which to some people would be ideal but for me, it meant that I would walk past all the animals needing a home. I usually left upset and disappointed in myself that yet, I couldn’t help another animal. One day, however, after contemplating things for a while, I went into the store for some hamster treats and left with a new friend.

My new friend was a little bunny named Oscar. The difference with Oscar is that he was within the adoption section of the pet shop. I found out that he had been initially purchased and was living in a home with a Husky and neither got on well; so he was limited to spending time in a cage only. When I heard this I just knew that I could take him home and give him space to run around just like I did with Psycho in her wee ball.

Oscar settled in fairly quickly, he had a large indoor cage in the living room and a whole section to run around in and play. Oscar loved to get a wee scratch on the top of his head and would put his mouth to mine for kisses. He did, however, have a very boisterous side too. The first time I let him out of his cage and section of the living room he hopped around for ages and then did his first high jump into the air, kicking his back legs called a binky. It was utterly adorable.

When my health was good, I spent so much time with the animals. But when my health was bad I never quite considered how many things I couldn’t do. When my hip pain flared I was unable to bend down to sit on the ground to gain access to their cages which meant; feeding, handling, changing water and cleaning the cages out became pretty difficult. I felt guilty, I would do as much as I could to ensure both of them had lots of love and attention and were pretty spoiled but it just got to the point where I realised I was really struggling.

Surprisingly enough Oscar and Psycho got on like a house on fire. Psycho stood her ground with Oscar and it got to the point where they could both spend time out in the living room together, without the plastic ball. This initially happened as Psycho wasn’t just a silly wee hamster; she could somehow escape the plastic ball and then she liked to run over to Oscar and see what he was up to.

I kept Psycho and Oscar for as long as possible. I really struggled to give Oscar up first but I found a local family who had a massive back garden that he would be able to use and run around in and enjoy the fresh air and two little boys to play with.

Lastly, I rehomed Psycho too, I was heartbroken but it just became the right thing to do, and don’t worry she went to a good home I made sure of it.

As you may now know if you have read my Blogtober 5 post – I recently did find the best pet for me. His name is Simba and he is a 6 month old kitten. He is adorable and photos of him can be found here and here! If I am having a bad day with my mental health or pain, he always comes over to me, cuddles up or sits or lies across me. Although he is attempting to get my attention right now, so I best go and give him some snuggles.

On that note, speak to you tomorrow, Amy.

 

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