Maintaining Healthy Boundaries With Your Pets
Pets are our companions, unconditional in their love for us, and trusting in our care. As their human counterparts, it is not only our responsibility, but our desire to provide them with the absolute best – after all, they deserve it!
But lately, I’ve found there’s a misconception among pet owners that effectively caring for a pet requires putting aside your own needs when there is a better solution. Of course, we often must make sacrifices for our pets – money, time, finding solutions for when we want/need to travel – but there are many situations where we neglect to care for ourselves in order to give our pets what they want, when in reality, we can do both.
For example, many of us can relate to the experience of a pet waking us up during the night, or not letting us sleep into the morning. While this can sometimes be a symptom of a deeper issue, such as a health concern or anxiety response, many of us find that our pets simply want our attention – or to play! As endearing as that may be, you also need your rest.
Because animals don’t communicate through language, it can also be hard for us to differentiate between these two states. Connecting more deeply through intuitive reading and animal communication can be helpful in understanding exactly what our pets are trying to tell us, in concert with their regular care.
I recently worked with someone whose cat habitually woke them during the night, and as you might imagine, it introduced a significant amount of stress into their life. After listening for why the cat might be doing this, it became clear that there was no immediate emergency to which its human needed to be alerted. So, I recommended making some adjustments to the sleeping arrangements in the home – putting the cat in a separate part of the house overnight so they couldn’t interrupt their human’s sleep.
Even still, my client felt guilty about the idea of making this change. This is understandable, as we humans might see this as a personal rejection – but pets don’t feel this sort of guilt. While it may take some patience and effort to enforce these kinds of boundaries, they do not take it as a personal rejection in the way we might as humans. They understand their role as a companion animal and that their human is the ultimate decision-maker and has everyone’s best interest at heart.
I’ve found it’s possible to develop codependent habits in our relationships with our pets, just as it is with other humans, and this is what it can look like. The truth is, though, that in situations where our pets’ behaviors interfere with our ability to live our lives in a healthy way, it’s important to remember that you cannot pour from an empty cup – so, ultimately, your own well being is theirs, too. Trust me… they understand, even if they don’t like it!
Want to understand more about why your pet might be engaging in certain behaviors? I can help. Learn more about booking an Animal Communication session with me.
