Hi Musers! Self-care is always so important. It’s something a lot of us neglect though. Maybe we’re too busy, too focussed on what others need from us, or feel taking time for ourselves is selfish. We make excuses. Tell ourselves that once we get through this busy patch we’ll make time for ourselves. The truth is life is going to keep happening and so we need to learn to carve out time for ourselves. It’s not selfish. It’s essential. If we neglect ourselves for too long we will start to break down. 

Luckily help is at hand from our common household kitties. Anyone who spends any time with cats knows they are experts at looking after themselves. Our cats may love us but they will always love themselves more. This may seem awful to us but it’s how we should all behave. I’m not telling you to stop caring about others and turn into a self-obsessed ass. I’m saying we need to make ourselves a priority. If we look after ourselves first then we’re in the best place mentally, physically, and emotionally to be there for the people we care about. Self-care is not something we’ll get around to later. We need to make it our focus now.

Here’s what our cats can teach us about self-care:

1.  You need more sleep. Anyone who knows anything about cats knows they spend the majority of their lives asleep. Even in the wild cats conserve their energy so that they have the speed and stamina to hunt their prey. You and I aren’t going to be chasing the local rodent population but hardly any of us get as much sleep as we need. A lack of quality sleep has been linked with brain fog, depression, and irritability as well as contributing to serious health conditions like heart disease and diabetes. Mimic your cat and start having those catnaps.
2. Share your feelings. Cats get the type of interaction they want from us because they aren’t shy about sharing what they do and don’t want. They purr when happy, hiss when angry and vocalise to ask for something. We humans often hide how we feel about something because we’re afraid of upsetting people, being seen as pushy, or we worry we don’t deserve what we want. Think cats ever have those feelings? Nah! Keeping your emotions in is a sure-fire way to end up with depression, anxiety and feelings of frustration. Learn to talk about what you want and need. You do deserve to be listened to and to get what you want. 
3. Eat when you want and stop when you want. Cats are grazers. They eat what they feel they need to at that moment and stop when they’re full. If they then decide they’re hungry again half an hour later they eat. They don’t say “I can’t be hungry, I just ate” or “I wonder how many calories there are in that kibble”. They. Just. Eat. The takeaway? They are intuitive eaters. We have so much diet bs shoved down our throats every day that something as simple as hunger becomes a major emotional crisis and we eat on plans or schedules rather than listen to what our bodies want. Cats are smart. Be more like cats.
4. Move in a way that’s fun. Unless a cat is hunting they only move fast when they’re playing. They like chasing toys, jumping between platforms and having extremely bendy stretches! Do you think they do it because they “should”? Nope. They do it because it feels good. Stop killing yourself at the gym or pounding the streets if you don’t enjoy it. Find a way to move that makes you happy. Dance. Go Hiking. Take up a martial art. Have a lot of sex 😉 If you make movement something you love you’ll feel less resentful and you’re far more likely to keep doing it.
5. Don’t be afraid to be silly. Cats can be so dignified! Then all of a sudden they flip out and do something so ridiculous you’ll be sore from laughing. It doesn’t matter how old you are we all need to be silly and we all need to play. Pull crazy faces, play hide and seek with your child or partner or cat, jump on a trampoline or have a pillow fight. Stop taking yourself so seriously and let yourself go. You really will feel better afterwards!

I hope you now feel ready to embrace the wisdom of cats even if you don’t like cats yourself. If you don’t you’re wrong by the way but we’ll deal with that another day! Learn to practice self-care the way cats do and please pop any hints I’ve missed in the comments. I’d love to hear what you come up with.