A Purrrfect Date Night with… My Cat*

Another weekend has come and gone, and obviously I didn’t have a date. I say obviously because I haven’t been on a date since a disastrous one last April when the guy walked into the coffee shop, saw me and said “no, this isn’t going to work” then left. Man that was a blow for my self esteem! I’d been dumped in the December, decided to put myself straight back out in the January, briefly started seeing a guy that I picked up was bad news from the start, had a few dates with another guy but he was so self righteous we just argued constantly and then coffee shop guy. So I stopped. Dating was turning me into a head case and that’s not what my family deserves. I deleted all the apps and I decided to be the best mum ever instead. And so far, it’s working.

So, how do I spend my Saturday night? Long after Little Miss is tucked up in bed dreaming of her own boyfriend, Peter Pan (who thankfully loves her a lot), I can settle down with someone who loves me, my fur baby Elsa.

If you’ve been following along with Cocktails in Teacups for a while, you’ll know all about Elsa. I wanted a cat for a so long (pretty much all my childhood) and finally, almost 4 years ago, I got Elsa Arya. She’s a blue point rag doll and probably the best money I’ve ever spent. She’s kept me going in tough times, she helps me in the nights when my insomnia is bad and she’s great with Little Miss. She makes me so happy, so giving her some of my time on a Saturday night is the least I can do. She loves having me all to herself and when she knows LM isn’t around she becomes the lap cat I’ve always dreamed of.

When Whiskas asked me to describe our “purrrfect” night in, I wasn’t going to say no. Every night with Elsa is a perfect night in. She sits beside me on the sofa, then comes up to bed and sleeps on my feet. But it seemed like a lovely excuse to do something a little extra special.

A perfect date night in for me consists of food, wine, movies, blankets and snacks. Food and snacks aren’t the same, you eat your meal and then you put the movie on and eat your snacks. So that’s what we did.

Once upon a time when a date night in did also include a man, I would showcase my fancy cooking skills (I’m a good cook, I just don’t very often these days) but these days I treat myself to an M&S ready meal, because M&S is a luxury right? And the landlord next door handed in a bottle of wine to say thank you for putting up with his renovations so I can even have a glass of wine, really making the night extra special. For Elsa, she’s got her Whiskas cat casseroles, which she really likes due to the fact they have a lot of meat in them. She gets one a day, along with her dry food and seems very content with that set up.

Next, blankets. Elsa is allowed on my sofa and has a chair she sits on, but as a special little extra I brought her blanket down to sleep on. I’ve had it since I was about 16 years old and it’s been on the bed in every single house i’ve lived in but it’s now Elsa’s blanket as she sleeps on it, even when it’s freshly washed and hanging on the screen she makes a hammock out of it! And I have my blanket. The candles are lit and the mood is set, I mean what is a night in without the mood set?

Time for the movies, obviously I’ve gone with some cat related picks. Elsa actually loves seeing cats on the TV, even animated cats. I remember when she was a kitten and LM was only 2 so we watched a lot of Postman Pat, Elsa used to be mesmerised by Jess! She used to sit right in front of the TV. Of course, I’m a little old for Postman Pat, so I’ve picked out two of my favourite cat movies, The Aristocats and Oliver in Company. Half way through the movie it’s time for snacks, popcorn for me and a handful of treats for Elsa. Everyone is happy.

Of course, Elsa sleeps and I sit absent mindedly stroking her head. It’s comforting and I don’t at all feel bad for sitting alone with my cat. She’s great company and I don’t fret about whether she loves me or not. If I could have 10 of her, I would, but I wouldn’t for a second want her to feel put out because I got even one more cat. So it’s just us, and Little Miss and I’m quite content.

I always recommend to people who are struggling with loneliness to look into getting a cat. They offer great companionship and don’t require the attention a dog does. As long as I keep Elsa fed, show her some attention and keep on with her vaccinations, she’s happy and she brings me happiness. If I’m to be a crazy cat lady, bring it on.

This post is in conjunction with WHISKAS® but all thoughts are my own