Did I need the cat or did he need me?

Something made me smile this morning and caused me to reflect back over the last few years.  Whilst I was studying to be a counsellor my Tutor would often say we don’t always get the clients we want but we get the client we need.

So often words are said to us that we don’t always resonate with or even understand until we see or hear something that causes us to think and reflect. 

As I sat with my coffee in the garden my cat was sat outside my therapy room, enjoying the sun. Just before the first lockdown I inherited him as a kitten, it was thought he was unsettled in a home where there were twin boys, it turned out he suffers with high anxiety, rarely leaving my house and when he does happy to play in the garden.  He will be three in August.  He will not sit on my lap, sometimes brushes past me but only if I sit still, however, curls up on my bed every night in the small of my back.  This is where he feels safe, I give him the autonomy to be where he feels comfortable, and I don’t judge him.   

Where is this going you think?  Having decided I did not want pets when I moved to this house eight years ago, and despite constant pressure from family, I stuck to my guns, then this cat appeared.  Did I need him, or did he need me?  The truth is it doesn’t matter because we all need someone or something at different times in our life.