Since school has been virtual, I have been spending a lot of time with my cats. During school, my cats are always by my side –sometimes, they even like to show themselves during our Google Meets! Since there is a light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, I have been thinking about how pets will have to adapt when everything returns to “normal”. 

Before COVID-19, my cats used to sleep a lot during the day, since everyone in my house was at school or work. This was particularly annoying because at night they would be extremely hyper, and would often keep me awake. I know that they used to jump on top of our countertops, hang out in the bathroom sink, and do all the things that they weren’t supposed to do while my family was away. I could only imagine how lonely and bored they must have been because when I got home from school every day, both of my cats would be sitting on the couch waiting for me.  

Now that most of my family is home, I can keep the cats somewhat awake during the day so that they can sleep at night. After all, virtual school is exhausting, and I need all the sleep I can get. I can control what they do during the day, and I make sure that they aren’t up to any mischief. I know that once my family returns to work and school, my cats are going to go back and do the same things that they used to do before the pandemic. They are probably going to be confused since no one will be home to spend time with them. 

But what about the people who adopted pets during the pandemic? According to The Washington Post, “Shelters, nonprofit rescues, private breeders, pet stores — all reported more consumer demand than there were dogs and puppies to fill it”. So many people wanted to adopt dogs since they had so much free time at home during isolation. Some people that fostered pets even decided to permanently adopt them. Many shelters ran out of pets for people to adopt- which is wonderful because it means that more and more pets found families to care for them. 

Pets are a big responsibility, and they do require a lot of attention. Younger pets are especially a handful because they need to be trained. Owning a pet requires a lot of patience and flexibility. But after the pandemic ends and people return to their normal lives, the new pets are going to have a lot of separation anxiety from their owners. Since these pets were adopted while they were young, they are not accustomed to being alone. My cats are older, so they know what it is like to be on their own. Hopefully, these new pet parents will be able to care for their pets when we go back to our normal lives.