Pets are such a huge part of the Family | AD

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Ever since Luke died a few weeks ago I have been thinking back to the good times we shared and the family that we made, the cats, Dave and I, before the children came along.

Dave and I moved into our first home and we got the cats to stop me feeling lonely when he was out on night shifts. Dave didn’t like cats much – he was definitely a dog person – but before we knew it the cats had well and truly cemented their place in our life and had taken us from a couple to a family, with two little balls of fur to look out for and look after.

One of the first things we did for the cats was get their injections done, get them spayed and neutered and microchipped. We also bought them a ridiculous amount of toys, a cat bed and a huge scratchy thing for them to climb on – they were our babies and we spoilt them completely.

Since then it has been so nice coming home to the cats, their meows as we got out of the car or their furry faces at the window as we walked up the path to our front door. The cats were always there, never too far away and constantly with us in the evenings. You see, I never let the cats out at night. I was too scared they’d get hit by a car or something. So they spent their evenings laying on us in front of the TV, or next to us on the bed and up until the children came along they slept at the end of our bed at night.

The cats have always made our house a home and I can’t imagine a house without cats in it. Some people like dogs, some like rabbits, guinea pigs or even fish but I am most definitely a cat person and I know that apart from the periods after losing a pet, I will always have cats in my house.

Although there was nothing that could be done for Luke – he was gone by the time he got to the vets – I have always had pet insurance for the cats and it has always given me peace of mind that if anything happened to them we would have the security of the vets bills being paid. I would hate for something to happen to Leia and us not have the money to pay for the vets bill – it doesn’t bare thinking about.

But neither Luke or Leia have ever been poorly or accident prone. They’ve always been so healthy so I hope Leia sticks with us, accident free, for a long time to come. Her tiny furry body laying against my leg in the evening has been a huge comfort over the last few weeks. The children love her, remember Luke often, but always say good morning and good night to Leia – as well as giving her cuddles through the day. Although a slightly timid little thing she is very much part of the family – just as her brother had been.