There is an incredible number of reasons why you should have a cat during medical school. Or just have one in your life, in general. If you are living by yourself and need some kind of joy in your mundane, stressful life, you should consider getting yourself a pet. Now, you may think that getting a pet would take either cost too much money or take too much time, but let me tell you – it doesn’t.

Why You Should Have a Pet in Medical School

Now, whether it is either medical school or simply a job that you hate, you need some love and comfort when you come back home from a hard day. If you are like me who live alone, having a pet makes a huge difference in your life in terms of your happiness. Pets in general should make you happy so you have to make sure you adopt a pet that is suitable to your lifestyle. For me, getting a cat was a no-brainer because they are so low maintenance. Which brings me to the topic of why cats are better than dogs for my lifestyle.

Cat versus Dogs

Even though I really like dogs, there was no way I could take care of one in my busy schedule. I needed a low maintenance pet that could clean and go to the bathroom by themselves. Of course, there are certain aspects where I think a dog would be better than cats, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Low Cost

Cats tend to cost less than dogs. Period. According to ASPCA, dogs can cost more than cats on average. And that is because of a number of reasons, such as the fact that dogs are bigger than cats, on average, and are likely to eat more and cost more money in kibble bags. They also tend to require more toys, supplies, and services than cats, like leashes, collars, and training classes. Dog-sitting or dog-walking can really add up the costs too, especially if you are on vacation. Routine annual veterinary expenses tend to be higher for dogs than for cats, as well.

Here’s an illustration of ASPCA’s food costs for cats and dogs for the first year of ownership. As you can see, dogs can be twice as costly compared to cats.

Low Maintenence

This is the number one reason why I chose to get a cat instead of a dog. They can do everything themselves. If you get your cat an automatic feeder, you do even less work for owning a cat. This is the automatic feeder I use – and it’s so cute because I can record myself saying “Gummy~ it’s dinner time” and it’ll play my recorded voice every time its time for her meal. Neat, isn’t it? And as long as you have a litter box out, your cat can use the bathroom by themselves. The bigger the litter box, the less often you can change it out. I bought the biggest litterbox I could find and it works really well. As long as you change the litter box twice a week (depending on how big your cat or your litter box is), your cat will be happy. And maybe giving some spontaneous cuddles when they come meowing and rubbing at your legs.

Cat Therapy

This is reason number two of why I wanted cats. Now, I do agree that dogs give you unconditional love 24/7 compared to cats. But cats give you that irresistible charm of being so adorable that you will forgive the moments when they don’t want your cuddles. Here is my secret though: as long as you give it some treats, they will gladly cuddle with you the moment you want them to. My cat goes nuts over these Temptations treats.

Bug Catcher

I absolutely hate bugs in the house and I am glad I have a bug catcher. And that’s my cat. Now, your cat won’t necessarily catch the bug for you, but you can be rest assured that they will go after that nasty bugger, and play with it until it’s dead. And that’s good enough for me.

The One Thing I Have Against Cats

Boy, do they have an attitude at times. Usually, your cat will be pretty chill, but then there’s that small fraction of the time where they will be absolutely unpleasant and they don’t want to be touched or cuddled. Out of nowhere. Maybe they just slept badly or ate a bad kibble. Who knows. But then I’ll leave her by herself for about thirty minutes and she’ll be trotting back to me and meowing as if leaving her broke her heart.

Does Having a Cat Affect My Studying?

The big question that I get asked all the time. And the answer is a big no. If fact, my cat makes my life a lot more bearable amidst all the stress of medical school. Getting a cat was ultimately a good decision for me as I was able to keep my mental sanity during these times of extreme stress and loneliness. And I believe that if you are able to have time to cook or even take a shower every day, you will have time to feed your cat and clean the litterbox a couple of times. In fact, I always make it so my cat eats when I eat. The company makes life so much better. And I wouldn’t trade her for the world.