Many people of my generation often feel overwhelmed with responsibility; having to pay bills, repay college loans, even having to pay for their own food for once. It’s not often that someone will seek out more responsibility before they themselves are fully stable, which sadly is a rarity in this modern American economy. However, that’s not to say that it’s not something that doesn’t happen at all. In fact, many people in Gen Z will seek out one major responsibility in the hopes that it will lessen the overall strain of their lives in general: pet ownership.
Many flats and apartments these days have expanded to allow pets, or at bare minimum to allow service animals, and as such, people in Gen Z are adopting animals in larger numbers. Of course, the lessened restrictions are hardly the only reason. In fact, there are a vast number of reasons that someone who would be otherwise struggling to survive, living paycheck to paycheck would willingly take on more responsibility even though on paper it seems counterintuitive. While there are many different experiences involved with taking care of animals, I will give my personal experience with taking care of my own animal, an orange cat named Burgers.
Taking care of yourself when the world is simultaneously bombarding you with information at every angle and rarely giving you any good news out of it is a difficult task. Notably, if you don’t have that much money to take care of yourself, it’s easy to fall into a sense of apathy, hopelessness and depression, something quite common in my generation. You may find yourself cutting corners, forgetting to eat, going out less, not paying bills just because you feel like you can’t be bothered from day to day, as if ignoring it will take care of the problem.
Reliance
I know that for a while during the pandemic, I was in a similar rut that made it difficult to get up in the morning from time to time. However, taking care of a cat gave me something special that I wouldn’t necessarily have on my own: the drive to make sure that someone that was fully reliant on me is healthy and happy. While depression and apathy often results in your own personal neglect, guilt and responsibility towards those who depend on you and love you is a frequent shortcut to getting you to push yourself forward and get yourself into a better place. After all, if you’re not around to take care of your cat, then your cat won’t be around much longer either. The sense of having to care for something outside of yourself without needing to worry about the trials and tribulations that come with childcare is the perfect motivator; it certainly allowed me to bring myself to getting up at 4 AM for my opening shifts, just so I could make sure I had enough money to pay for my cat’s vet bills, food, treats, toys, and more.
Companionship
In addition to the sense of taking care of someone else that having a pet brings, animal ownership brings with it a sense of, well, companionship. While this may seem like an obvious thing to point out, if you are someone who spends all your time on your own and have few social connections outside of social media, you may find yourself feeling more isolated and lonely. This obviously enhances the feelings of depression and apathy, and as such, having anyone around you physically, even a cat, can offset that.
It’s not just their presence as well; new pet owners get the experience of discovering the quirks and personality traits of their pets, and they can form a routine and a way of living beyond the bare minimum due to this. I know that whenever I get home after being away for a while (at least an hour or so), my cat will be waiting right by the front door to squeak at me, run to the living room, and flop over so I can pet him. That sense of being missed by someone who cares about you is incredibly important to having a functional life beyond yourself, and if you’re not in a position or place to go out and meet other people (say you’re working from home often or in a new city), that little bit of care from your pet goes a long way.
Assistance
There’s a reason there’s been a rise in service animals and emotional support animals in our time, and that’s partially due to the rising awareness of mental health issues and how to address them. As I mentioned, even having a pet can regulate depression (though that’s not saying you can’t do more to help the problem), but pets can also act as an assistant for executive dysfunction, ADHD, Autism, and more. Most pets can receive licensing as emotional support animals, thus allowing you to have an animal trained to help you when you’re in need. My own cat has helped me with depressive episodes, as he’s been trained to know exactly how to snap me out of them if things get dangerous.
While it still takes work and dedication to take care of a cat, dog, fish, snake, or whatever pet you choose, the benefits that it brings to allowing you to stabilize yourself and benefit your life and well-being as a whole are more than worth it. I couldn’t endorse adoption more, and it’s a great first step into responsible adulthood for Gen Z.
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