Holmes and Watson officially turned 1-year-old yesterday. Even though they found their home with us in August this is kind of a big deal, because they are no longer kittens… despite what they may think.

They think they’re helpful

Having pets as an adult is totally different than having pets as a child. When we adopted Holmes and Watson, we were prepared to be responsible for these creatures but there are some lessons I’ve learned along the way.

1.  People think they’re your kids. When you own pets as a childless adult, people automatically assume that you have animals instead of, or to prepare for, children. They inquire about the cats as if they are people. They ask about their likes and dislikes, wants and such the way that you would ask someone about their small children. My response is usually, “Um, well, they’re cats. So they’re acting like cats.”
2. They are not toys. We had pets growing up for many reasons, but when I was small our cats and our dog were toys to me. I dressed them up, played fetch with them or followed them around. With Holmes and Watson, we play with them, but they don’t seem like toys to me… they have a lot of toys though.
3. Cleaning up after them isn’t so bad. Brad and I take turns cleaning the box and aside from some extra vacuuming, they aren’t so bad. Cleaning the cat box or poop scooping in the yard were horrible tasks as a kid, but as a grown up they’re just a part of normal housekeeping stuff.
4. You compare them to other animals. When we first adopted them, they were so tiny and when we saw other people’s cats, they looked HUGE. Now that they’re adult animals, everyone else appears to have normal-sized cats again.
5. Sleeping with pets isn’t really that sweet. When we brought our kitties home, it became clear that our bedroom should be off-limits for a few reasons. The primary reason is that when they were allowed in our bedroom at first, they disappeared under the bed and refused to come out. Finding a cozy place to sleep is fine, but consistent hiding isn’t a good thing. Also, keeping them out of our bedroom keeps cat hair off of our clothes and knocks out one major sleep deterrent.

Having these two around adds a lot to our home. They make it welcoming and relaxing for us as well as anyone who visits.

For their birthday, the cats got wet food as a treat and plenty of petting, playing and snuggling (although that’s pretty usual).  Do you do anything for your pets’ birthdays? What do you do if you don’t know their actual date of birth?