Chonky cats and the robot butler

A cat slimmer than mine sits on a robo-vac. Aww!

I share a 720 sq. ft. house with three cats, two people, one dog and one robot vacuum, lovingly named Alfred (yes, after Batman’s butler.)

As you can imagine, it’s a squishy space sometimes, replete with dust and cat hair tumbleweeds the size of my rusting Kia Soul (hence Alfred’s necessity.)

My first cat I rescued from a shelter when I was 22. My second cat was brought into my small-town newspaper office by someone asking where the nearest shelter was. The orange kitten in the litter made his way into my boss’s office and promptly pooped under her desk.

He came home with me.

Since then, I’ve had several cats, but always as pairs. One day last year, I made the mistake of taking the family to a local cat cafe, where I scooped up a grey kitten. The kitten promptly snuggled into my neck and slept on me for 40 minutes.

I was now officially a cat lady as grey kitten came home with us, too.

Last week, I brought the trio to the vet for their annual check-up.

(Well, I brought two of them, because one managed to escape while I was putting her in the pet carrier and hid under the couch.)

I was horrified to discover, however, that they are officially overweight.

I have chonkers! I’ve never had chonky cats before.

I slunk home to tell the family that the fuzz that Alfred sucks up daily is not “just making them fluffy.”

Anyone who is able to have a pet knows how they can help combat loneliness and bring joy to your day.

But I owe it to them to keep them healthy.

Do they sell robot cat companions?

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  • Elisha Dacey is a seasoned journalist with more than two decades of experience in the field. She has worked in various newsrooms across Canada, ranging from small-town papers to major outlets like CBC Manitoba and Global News. Dacey began her journalism career in Manitoba and has held roles such as managing editor, senior producer and digital online journalist. Notably, she launched Metro Winnipeg, the city’s only free daily newspaper, which quickly became the second most-read paper in Winnipeg.

    Elisha Dacey is the Managing Editor for Future of Good.

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