I booked appointments for the girls at the local vet for the first annual checkup. I’m new at this but it’s my understanding that once a year is standard protocol early in their life, ignoring any emergencies or anything of that nature. If I’m wrong, I’ll leave it to the vet to set me straight.
However, as soon as I confirmed the date and time of the appointment and ended the call, I started to experience a sense of panic. What if I’m over feeding them? What if I’m under feeding them? What if I’m missing some fundamental aspect of feline care? Will the vet judge me?
Simply put, I’m afraid of being labeled as a bad (pet) parent.
I love these cats, even if they wake me up in the middle of the night to let me know that they’re awake and keeping an eye on that one corner of the bed for me. And while I have faith in how Dayle and I have raised these two over the past year, I can’t help but worry that I’m doing something wrong now that there’s an official review of my abilities as a parent on the horizon.
And then it hit me, if this is what I feel as the caregiver for two cats, the pressure felt by parents of their children, regardless of age, must be monumental. Suddenly I have a bazillion times more respect for every parent out there.
Funny how that happened.
Have a nice weekend.
A Consequence of Hypoglycemia. 
I always knew I wanted to have kids, but I was 35 years old before I found the right guy and married him. Before we had our daughter, I was the parent of Xena, the warrior schnauzer – the first dog I’d ever had on my own, and as my sole responsibility. She was like, my first “try” at raising another living being. It WAS tough, and it is stressful feeling like you might be feeding them something bad, they may get into things they shouldn’t, etc. But yes – WOW – how that is magnified exponentially now with my human daughter. Thanks for the effort in understanding! Even thinking of this, makes me certain you are an excellent pet parent, and would make a super-fine human parent, should you so desire 🙂
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Thank you! Although, bringing our sweet dog to the vet brings me anxiety as well. Being judged isn’t fun any way you slice it!
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Anyone who appreciates the variety of birds like you do, is well beyond being considered a “bad” FurDaddy! 🙂 Although perhaps you are secretly feeding the birds for the entertainment of your cats? :p
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Don’t worry, you are doing fine. Good job!
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