by J. Zakrzewski

No I haven't hit the bottle early this New Years Eve before picking this topic. New Years Resolutions for your pet may seem silly at first, but give me a few moments to tell you about someone that not only celebrates this holiday, but swears it has kept her healthier each year.

This year I flew out early to visit my sister Sue for the holidays. She recently lost her cat and was looking for a new companion, so we went to the local shelter. Sue was feeling a bit depressed since her family lived so far away and she has been traveling for work almost every week, she was returning to an empty apartment. She always looked forward to coming home to her furry companion but now he was gone. "It was a reason for me to return home earlier, I had to take care of him, and it was great when he greeted me after a long trip. I miss that."

It has been said that pets and their owners share more then just companionship. That was soo true with Sue and her last stray cat "lucky" who shared a lot more, like finding milk at the bottom of the cereal bowl. Or when she’s not looking, he would grab a little snack from her plate she told me. They even shared holidays together. Getting dressed up for Halloween to greet the kids at the door, was just another holiday that my sister Sue and her cat enjoyed.

This year my sister wants me to celebrate New Years with her and her adopted cat. This was an honor that she usually bestows on her latest boyfriend, but no one serious this new year, so it’s me and "spanky" her new cat at the party. I guess I would have invited myself this year if Sue didn’t, for the past month or two, I could tell that she was really depressed. All that traveling made it hard to stay close to friends and even harder to meet new boyfriends. During the holiday’s depression hits many, but for those that live alone, it hits hard.

Sue told me that she struggled with depression a few years back and that one of the tips her doctor gave her was to adopt a pet. He suggested that one way to lift her spirits during a long trip away from home would be to visit a pet store or shelter and spend some time with the pets. He said that pet owners were more physically active and healthier than those without and wanted her to look into it. That was 7years ago and she’s swears by the health benefits of pet ownership to fight depression.

A few years back my sister had a new years resolution with her previous cat. You see her last cat was very chubby, more of a Garfield Cat body type rather then the cat in Tom & Jerry. At the time I thought she was silly, but after talking to her today about her depression, it doesn’t seem so silly anymore. She was determined to lose some weight (as she had resolved in many previous new years), but this time she included her cat. She resolved to lose one pound for every ounce her cat lost and she was determined for the big boy to lose weight. It worked, she lost 32lbs and the cat lost weight too. The weight loss task was one thing that got her out of her funk that year and was a healthy way for both her and her cat to fight depression she told me.

I wrote this article because I know there are a lot of people out there like my sister that struggle with depression during the holidays. It hits the elderly that live alone the hardest at the holidays. If you know someone like that, give them a call now and wish them a happy new years. Try to visit them in person and see how they are doing. And if you should happen to bring a cat or new pup from the shelter on this visit, it would make life better for two more on this planet of ours in 2006.

There have been many studies that show pet ownership fights depression. I like how your sister had fun with it and celebrates a holiday with her pet, its very common to include your pet even if your not living alone.  But it was very creative for her to challenge herself to loose weight with her cat.  It works for me when I go to the gym with my friends, they push me harder when you have someone else sharing your goals and helping you work harder.  I guess sharing a goal like a diet with your pet is somewhat similar, and if they both lost weight its healthy for your sister and her cat.