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Apparently my apartment floor has some new residents who AREN’T paying rent, and I’m pretty grossed out. My landlord has instructed that my entire floor gets fumigated because some pests have been spotted over the last few weeks. As much as I love animals, I don’t really want to coexist with roaches in my living space. Nah. Not for me. I’m sure you all know the feeling: seeing a cockroach scurry across the floor instantly spirals you in to the thoughts that there are a few hundred colonizing in the walls and floors around you. I’m not about that life.
First of all, I had no idea the preparation for an exterminator visit was so crazy. I spent nearly 5 hours emptying the contents all of my drawers, closets, and cabinets in to boxes. It nearly looked like I packed up my entire place to move. With that said, it wasn’t even the most frustrating part of this process.
Here’s the catch: I have two pets. One (gigantic) dog, and one cat. According to the exterminator preparation sheet, I need to make sure my furry fellas are gone from my place for at least four hours after the place has been sprayed. This doesn’t really put me in too much of a predicament for my dog since he has a doggy “daycare” where I can drop him off to play with other pups (which, by the way, is adorable to watch). But my cat? That’s a problem.
You see, I usually just let my neighbor watch my cat when I need some help – but guess what? Their place is also getting sprayed with toxic chemicals, so that’s out of the question. I also can’t have a friend watch my cat because everyone I know is also working and/or lives way too far away to make a simple favor feasible.
So that left me with one ridiculous option: My cat is going with me to the office.
First thing’s first: thankfully, the people around me are not allergic so I don’t have to worry about anyone having a reaction while my furry friend hangs out for the day. Also, it’s important to note that my office is pretty pet-friendly… but that’s usually the case for dogs. Cats? Never been done before. Regardless of the flexibility of my coworkers, bringing a cat to work is a little weird.
So here I come, strolling in to the office with my laptop… and a travel kennel… with a cat in it. So I tried the age old trick of “just act natural” and, well, it didn’t work. No matter how subtle or “normal” you may seem waltzing in to work with an animal, people notice. And they won’t stop asking you about it.
“What’s its name?”
“Is that… a fucking cat?”
“Can I pet it?”
“I hate cats.”
“Fuck cats. Dogs only, man.”
“Awwww how cute! What its name?”
“Here, let me show you a picture of MY cat.”
“Cats are evil.”
My undercover mission was busted.
Right away, I noticed that people have no problem letting you know that they hate cats – even if you’re holding one. In fact, they’re very proud of it. It’s weird. But other than the parade of attention my cat received, the day was pretty normal. If anything, it was really relaxing. It’s a no-brainer that dogs and cats in the workplace create an environment that is comfortable, open, and flexible. Having pets nearby makes people happy and lowers stress levels.
Maybe I’ll just have to bring my cat to work again. As long as it doesn’t mean my place has to get fumigated a second time..
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KatieCallaway
Katie is 27 and is from Nashville, TN but lives in Los Angeles, CA as an actress, comedian, writer, and marketing manager. Although some might disagree, she likely peaked when she had dinner with Randy Jackson and he called her “dude” a lot. You can see her active on the Twitterverse at @KECallaway or you can also follow her new Insta at @KatieCallaway even though she hates Instagram.
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We had a cat at our base in Afghanistan who was badass. She killed tons of rats and snakes. She had kittens who also became rat/snake killers. It was crazy how well the cats protected us from the pests. From then on I became a cat fan and can see the benefits of bringing them to work (pest control). These were wild Afghan cats though, not sure how the American cats fare.
For those wondering about the cats, some of the kittens were KIA by a lynx when they got older, so RIP to them. The mom is still around having kittens and murking rats and snakes.
This is an all time great comment.
This is amazing. My cat is named “Killer” because she’s an absolute weapon just like you described. She’s alpha over my massive dog, and he knows it.
can confirm hadji cats are badass. the only downside is when your quasi-feral best bud brings a highly venomous asp back to the house that ain’t quite dead yet. ours also killed scorpions for fun, which was nice.
Dogs > Cats, shoutout to RAAAAANDDDDDYYYYYYYY
It sounds like your cat is chill enough and friendly enough towards strangers that this could work out which is awesome. If I brought my cat to work I have no doubt that she would damn near have a panic attack and probably run all over the place while going nuts. She gets scared and hides when maintenance people come to my unit so I doubt she could handle an office full of noisy strangers.
so true about people loudly proclaiming their hatred of cats.It’s like a badge of honor–but if you don’t want a dog near you, you keep it to yourself and slink away
that stock photo cat looks like it is plotting its owner’s death yikes
Shit I just noticed those eyes…
Or you could just bring your Dog lol
I used to bring Tony when he was a puppy! It was awesome. But then he grew weigh the same amount as me, got too excited, and almost knocked a computer off a desk… So daycare it is.
If I could bring my cat to work… I’d certainly do it. She’s way cooler than the dogs we have in my office.