Introducing My Emotional Support Cat: Tuca

The last few weeks or so has been leaving me feeling a bit up and down emotionally. One highlight though was an admin in our department bringing her dog to work. I’m someone who naturally gravitates towards pets. If there is a dog or cat at a party, my ideal night involves befriending that fuzzball. In my adult life, I’ve been fortunate to live with roommates with pets so I’ve enjoyed the benefits of pets without the need to get my own. But moving out to LA, very few buildings allow pets including my current apartment. However, I learned last week that reasonable accommodations under the Fair Housing Act includes emotional support animals. Thankfully my therapist was willing to write a letter to send my apartment’s manager because she agreed that I would benefit from an emotional support animal.

Armed with this new knowledge and support of my therapist, I began searching for a cat to adopt. My primary criteria was a cat who is secretly a dog who poops in a box. Secondarily, I wanted an adult cat (1-5 years old) and without known medical issues. The first few cats I saw at two different organizations were fairly shy and/or had significant health issues. But at the West LA Animal Shelter, I found a cat who immediately set off exploring and accepting pets from me and my accompanying friends. When one of my friends scooped her up like a baby and she started purring, I knew she was the one.

So please enjoy these photos of my newly adopted cat Tuca.