After three years of managing to avoid it, our household finally succumbed to Covid19 this week, and we’ve spent the last few days recovering at home, which coincided with the 8th anniversary of adopting our cat Mara.

My husband and I were not long back from our honeymoon, when we decided we’d like to add a pet to our family. We had both grown up with cats, and already knew what affectionate, playful and quirky companions they are, so a feline was the obvious choice. We visited a couple of rehoming centres in our search, but we both felt an immediate connection with the tabby and white cat with the squeaky meow, and took her home with us the very same day. Through all the twists and turns life has taken over the last eight years, adopting Mara was easily one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.

We bought her a new feathery teaser toy as an anniversary gift and it’s been delightful to see her leaping, pouncing and catching it mid-air. Mara’s not as energetic or acrobatic as she used to be, but she’s still agile enough to jump onto the windowsill when she fancies a bit of birdwatching, or over the stair gate when she wants to escape the kids, and onto the bottom of our bed to sleep overnight.

Given that her original profile said she’d be best in a home without small children, I’ve been so impressed with how Mara has adapted to two noisy, little rugrats joining the family – both of whom absolutely adore her. Mara has proven to be a brilliant family pet, she’s been so patient and gentle with the little ones as we teach them how to care for and play with animals.

As we all seem to be recovering now, we’re looking forward to getting back out to our usual activities, but as always I love coming home to our sweet Mara for cuddles and coziness. Have a lovely week. X