This Woman Almost Didn’t Get Through Dental School Due to Stress – But a Cat Changed Everything

We come across a lot of really adorable cat stories – and we’re certainly not complaining. Just recently, there was the story of a family who rescued a stray kitten … only to have the little one adopt the family’s adult male cat as her own dad! There was also the viral story of a cat who was abandoned five times for being “too demanding” before finding a forever home.

So when we came across a story of a cat who saved a woman from the stress of going to dental school, we were instantly touched.

“I never liked cats. I had never been around or grown up with cats,” Imgur user kcody47 noted in the post. But when she started babysitting Sophie, a senior tabby cat, that all changed.

“I was a little skittish around her at first. Then she showed me the way of the head snuggle,” kcody47 said. 

Soon, it was apparent that Sophie rubbed her head on everything and kcody47 said that Sophie kept her company during her all-nighters. 

Because of the heavy course load, as well as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Predominately Inattentive (ADHD-PI), kcody47 became mentally and physically exhausted during her studies. 

But sweet Sophie would keep her company. 

Once in her fourth year of dental school, Sophie’s original guardian let kcody47 adopt her. Trying to finish her graduation requirements, kcody47 was stressed but found comic relief watching Sophie walk around the house in a dress. 

Sophie has her own teepee, complete with food, a water fountain, and cat grass. 

The pair would walk around campus and find empty buildings. We would love to have Sophie as a professor! 

kcody47 happily notes in the Imgur post that she is now a 2017 dental school graduate! Thanks for all the comfort and head butts, Sophie!

Knowing how therapeutic animals can be, it’s not all that surprising to learn that Sophie was such a big help during the stress of dental school. Pet parents are generally happier, not as lonely, and tend to be more trusting. Companion animals can also give you a sense of meaning and boost your self-esteem, and they provide you with positive mental energy, to get technical – they do this by raising serotonin and dopamine levels while decreasing cortisol, just from playing or having a snuggle session.

Have you been looking for your own Sophie? There are thousands of deserving cats waiting for their forever homes at a shelter near you. Every year, six to eight million dogs and cats find themselves tenants of animal shelters. Sadly, 2.7 million get put down and approximately 70 percent of the euthanized animals are cats. Many of these marked cats are healthy and adoptable.

Choosing to adopt rather than shop for a new pet helps to reduce the homeless pet population and can help free up more space in a shelter for other animals who desperately need it.

Image source: kcody47/Imgur