I had an incredible revelation the other day. I noticed that no matter how stressed out I get, my cats never share my anxiety. Even when I'm ranting and cussing, the other occupants of this house still look like this:
Do pooties and poochies handle stress better than their servants......uh, owners......do? I suspected the answer is "Yes." So I roused Cookie from his slumber and sent him out to interview the other pooties in the neighborhood. "Find out how they handle stress," I told him. He yawned, but grudgingly agreed to follow my instructions, in exchange for a double helping of cat treats.
Granted, not every pootie manages stress effectively. There have been isolated reports of pootie road rage:
And occasional outbursts on pootie forums:
The really high-strung breeds seem to have the most difficulty with stress management:
However, Cookie's neighborhood interviews revealed some successful pootie coping strategies. Maybe one of these will work for you?
SEX is a good all-purpose stress reducer:
And pootie porn is readily available:
Some sing their troubles away:
Several of the pooties interviewed admitted addictions to booze or food:
But by far, the most common addiction seemed to be snorting.......catnip:
A few of the pooties got part-time jobs, just to get away from the kids:
Others chose to volunteer their time to help others:
Chasing feathers seemed to be a favorite relaxation exercise:
As is bird-watching:
The wealthier (Republican) pooties relaxed by shopping till they dropped:
Only one of the pooties surveyed allowed stress to drive him to a life of crime:
The smartest pooties dealt with stress by finding a friend:
I'm sure the poochies have their own coping methods, but Cookie absolutely refused to interview dogs.
So which picture do you and your pooties/poochies most resemble?
This?
Or this?
How do you and your animal companions cope with stress? Please share!
Cat kisses to all, but pootie kisses to MissLaura and Pluto.:)