I rescued a cat a few months ago from in front of my work. She turned out to be a 13-year-old sweetheart who was abandoned by her original owner. She was so loving and cuddly and incredibly happy to interact with anyone.

As much as it warmed my heart that she loved to cuddle on me and next to me, there was something about the texture of her fur, the structure of her joints and bones, and her size:weight ratio that gave me a huge feeling of ick that I simply couldn’t shake. I always felt nauseous while petting her, it felt like a furry underweight roasting chicken. I wanted so badly to cuddle her and loved her so much (from a distance).

I’d take care of all of her feeding and cleaning and my wife took care of all the longer interactions/cuddles. She also hated our dog and was stressed out by our dog’s mere existence. I’m glad that we eventually got her into a new happy, loving home. I still miss her head bumps, mews, purrs, and licks.

That’s why seeing people love their cats like this vicariously makes me feel so happy. I get to read and share how happy your cat makes you without any of the physical interaction.