Okay, I am such an animal lover. My family and boyfriend know this SO well. If anyone is walking their dogs, I nudge my boyfriend and say, “Puppies!” If a plump bird lands a few feet away, I will stare at it while I walk until I am well past it or it flies away. If I am walking around in the neighborhood and see someone’s cat lounging around, I will talk to it and coax it to come and be pet by me. Haha, I really do have a problem, don’t I?

It all stemmed from when I was a kid and wanted a pet SO badly. “Mom, can we get a dog?” “Mom, can we have bunnies?” The answer was always, no, no, and no! My mom’s a weird lady; she’s scared of even the cutest animals. Furry warmth does not appeal to her and animal dirtiness certainly doesn’t either. On top of that, they’re a huge responsibility and hassle. I could never convince her to get some type of furry animal. As a kid I had higher hopes and would do tons of research on animals to show my mom I could take care of it. As I got older, I realized, “Dang, this lady ain’t budging.”

I finally had the brilliant idea of convincing her to let me have pet birds. They are easier to care for, still adorably fluffy & cute, and my mom would never have to interact with them if she didn’t want to. Today, I have the most adorable but meanest cockatiel ever. He is SUCH a weirdo and downright vicious sometimes, but he’s too cute to hate and really does act like a dog sometimes.

Well, anyways, I thought my bird was vicious. Well, he is. But his beak is not much of a problem. He can crack through sunflower seeds in a split second, but his nips are nothing compared to a furry animal bite. This realization did NOT come to me until I was bitten by a cat the other day. Like I said, I go around terrorizing neighborhoods and petting cats everywhere (exaggeration, but you get what I mean). There is one cat a few houses down from mine that is soooo friendly. I call to it, and it will come to be pet. It will leap into your hand and arch its back to put more force into your petting, while purring all at the same time. SO CUTE!

Ehh…but the other day I must have pet it the wrong way – most likely brushing against its side or belly – which set it off and it bit my arm. Waaaaah. I don’t blame the cat for it, but I was given a scare after that! My arm gradually got really swollen and doing research online about cat bites is NOT fun stuff. Luckily my bite just broke the surface of my skin. If you ever get a deep bite and/or puncture wounds – wash it really well and go to the doctor ASAP. You might get really infected and might lose your finger or whatever. Here’s a good reference site.

Apparently cats have a lot of bacteria in their mouths that could be really harmful to you if they get into your blood stream (which is why puncture wounds are really dangerous). I think I am allergic to cat saliva, which is why my arm got even more swollen. After a day though, it went down and all is well now. You’re supposed to keep an eye on how you feel for a few days. If you notice bad signs, that’s really not good and you gotta get your butt to the doc asap.

*sighs* I might hold off on petting outdoor cats for a while until I get health insurance again to be safe. Or at least be on guard.

P.S. I still love cats and furry creatures.