Ok

So here goes ....

I have bipolar disorder (manic depression it used to be called - that is a false statement btw hence its new name). I am not afraid to admit that this mental illness that I have had all my life is finally under control. I am leading a fairly normal life after going through many years of hell.

So that is me and that is the sole reason why I got Bastet.

You see, animal therapy for certain types of mental illness works wonders! I say certain types because I am sure that there would be a few that even I would not trust to give a person an animal to care for!

Bastet is a companion pet. She was recommended to me by my psychiatrist as a way of giving me responsibility and relearning to trust. Funny thing is with mental illness is that you learn to distrust yourself to the point of dependency on another person. I had to re-learn that skill.

Anyway I digress.

I told a friend about getting a companion pet. (I had thought about it for weeks at this stage) I wanted a cat... So she said well there is no time like the present. We went to the RSPCA. All of the cats there were not *companion pet* material. The lady who was looking after me said that most of them were rescues *black marks* which means there were from abusive families. She said that they wouldn't help me recover and suggested I get a kitten instead.

So I have always wanted an abysinnian. So I read thouroughly into them, checked out some breeders. I saw an advert for Bastet in a newspaper. I rang the breeder up and it was love at first meow. She was the last of the litter to go. The rest of her family are now residing in the United States, New Zealand and South Australia.

I picked her up that very weekend. This 12 week tiny bundle of pink fluff. She is very vocal for an aby. She loves to talk to me and has a very important job to do. Abysinnians make great companion pets for people - maybe not for hte elderly but for people recovering from serious illnesses.

When I first got her 3 years ago she was my sole reason to get out of bed in the morning. She was the sole reason I got work so I could get her cute things. Remember I was very sick and wasn't up to doing things for MYSELF.

That has all changed now and she still is my sweet wonderful bunch of pink fur. I love her to bits!