Health Lessons from My Foster Cat, Lilah
Monday, September 15, 2008 21:44
My foster kitty, Lilah, knows a lot about physiology and health. She hasn’t written books or performed medical research, but she knows how to keep herself flexible and well-rested, and she’s motivated me to stay active, too.
Here’s some things I’ve learned from the kitty:
Be active in the morning – Cats aren’t really nocturnal, they’re actually crepuscular, which means they’re active at dawn and dusk. Lilah meows at me early in the morning, “Get out of bed!” If I roll out of bed and plop in front of my computer, she distracts me with crazy antics — eating my pens, chewing my notebooks, and batting my hair. Now I’ve learned that if I play with her before sitting down, she’ll be more relaxed, and I can concentrate better too. The lesson? When you get up, get exercise before you sit down for the day. Let your body stretch, get your blood moving, and think about the real world for a bit before you settle into business and computer-land.
Curl up sometimes — Lilah’s just a year old, and she’s a small kitty. I can easily pick her up and swing her around with one arm, even though I’m pretty small myself. She looks especially tiny when she’s all curled up on the couch or a chair. She also looks really comfortable at those times. When I emulate her, and sit down with my laptop on the couch, I feel pretty comfortable too! It’s nice to take a break from the stiff “ergonomic” chair and sit in a more relaxed position for a while–I recommend it!
Stretch out on the floor – Even though she’s a tiny kitty, she looks quite long when she stretches out — she can easily reach to stick her paws into my third shelf of my tall bookcase, at least three feet tall! Her spine looks like it gets a great stretch break when she stands on her hind legs or lays out on the floor. When I lay down with her, my back feels like it’s getting fresh circulation and a nice rest, too. Instead of all the weight of gravity pulling down on me, my spine gets to settle in a different position, which helps circulation, and it also helps the muscles relax too.
Jump to get what you want — The second day after Lilah came home with me, I spent some time petting her first thing in the morning. When I stood up, she literally leaped to get back into my arms. The unclipped kitty claws and flying grey furball were a bit shocking, yet absolutely adorable and endearing, too. Her legs are strong and get a great workout when she uses them, keeping her agile, flexible and capable. Since Lilah and I are both mammals, we both need this kind of exercise to keep our muscles strong and in shape. Jumping, running and other exercise activates all the muscles in our legs, and keeps blood moving in the body. Metaphorically, too, it’s good to jump and reach for what you want, and keep people happily surprised at what you can do.
Get distracted — Ah, my favorite. Having a cat around my office is great at reminding me to step away from my work. As a young cat, Lilah explores everything — dangle two things in front of her face at once, and she’ll alternately pay attention to both. She’s never satisfied. It’s good for your body, too, to take breaks and play with a cat, walk around, look outside, or whatever you feel like doing. Give your mind and body a change of pace several times a day, and you’ll feel more relaxed and refreshed and ultimately, more productive.
Explore everywhere — Cats are by definition curious. Lilah wants to know about everything in her environment, and she’ll readily come up and smell anything I’m holding or working with. This can be frustrating, because I don’t want her in every nook and cranny all the time, but I respect her for being interested. It’s good for the mind and the body to poke your nose into new things and smell them. Walk around your office, meet people, look into areas or rooms you haven’t seen before. You never know what you’ll find, who you’ll meet. At the least, you’re giving your body room to move, and expanding your awareness of your area too.
Eat throughout the day -- Cats don’t eat three meals a day. They eat a little here, and a little there. Their stomach isn’t overloaded with everything at once, but has a steady amount of nourishment. And if we owners feed them well, they are always eating healthy foods too. It’s advice many people would do well to follow, because the human stomach isn’t much different. Many of us eat too much or forget to eat, and we don’t always eat healthy food. This prevents our bodies from getting the nutrients we need to stay healthy and heal from injuries. If we follow the rule of cats, and eat a little at a time throughout the day, with food that’s good for us, our bodies will thank us.
Sit in the sun — Here’s one more tip from Lilah cat. Enjoy sunshine! It brings us vitamin D, warmth and peace of mind. Sometimes I think the cat looks like she’s concentrating so hard on sunlight, that she’s trying to photosynthesize. Maybe it’s working, because she is growing! Our lifestyles don’t always let us enjoy enough natural light, but we can control our environment more than most house cats, so we should take advantage of our freedoms and spend some time outside in the light every day.
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