News, Stories, and Updates

5 Ways I Learnt to Work From Home with My Cat and Dogs

by chuishia chan on Jul 22, 2021

5 Ways I Learnt to Work From Home with My Cat and Dogs
It was National Bring Your Dog To Work Day recently, and it got us thinking about this current pandemic that has forced us to work from home for almost 1.5 years. We truly count ourselves lucky that we have our furkids (2 dogs and 1 cat) to keep us company. Although, our cat will probably beg to differ on losing her quiet nap times (the husband has his meetings and zoom calls all day long). The ones that truly benefitted from this pandemic, IMHO, is none other than our two dogs. They have certainly enjoyed the company and extra attention day after day. 
So, we thought we should share about our experiences of working from home with our furkids surrounding us. This is the experience of our Petbaker's other half that is working from home (Petbaker is fortunate enough to still travel out to work in our central kitchen ^o^).
 
Kayla, Miki and suki (Kayla - Golden 8 yrs, Miki - Poodle 11yrs, Suki - Cat 6 yrs)
 

5 Tips To Work From Home with our Furkids

1. Flexibility is key

Each working day is different. Some days can be overwhelming to the point of skipping meals, while other days allow me to have designated playtimes with my furry kid.
For Kayla & Miki:
I learnt that it’s crucial to help our furkids to adapt to this routine. If I bring them out for walks at the same time every day, they'll wonder why they're not going out at the supposed time on another day. With my ever-changing work schedule and sudden meetings, it’s hard to fix a routine around them.
How do I overcome this? We vary our walk times and playtimes as much as possible. With this flexible routine in place, they learn to wait until I’m ready to bring her for a walk. Most importantly, she can adapt more to life changes.
For Suki:
No routine for Suki. She will decide when she wants her play time, her rubs, and her tea time. 

2. Exercise is good for all of us

For Kayla & Miki:
Kayla and Miki will probably sulk or be super restless all day if we don't bring them out for their daily morning walks. Not to mention, making a mess by peeing and pooing in the house. 
This is something we do not miss, even when it rains. We simply tell them to wait a bit when the weather is bad. 
For Suki:
When its time for the dogs' walk, Suki is also waiting by the door hoping that ini kali lah (this time), she will get to go out too. We usually harness her up and bring her out on weekends when we have more time to let her direct us, coz y'know, we're the slaves so we have to go where she wants us to go. 
 

3. Play time with the furkids

Working from home within 4 walls, having zoom meetings one after another, can all get rather tiresome and depressing day after day. Here is where our Furkids become the best distraction and calming device.
For Kayla & Miki:
They are the best distraction. Not only are they eagerly awaiting for our cue to play, they are also able to diffuse some tension and frustration. 
For Suki:
Her purr is the best calming agent. All we need to do is give her tummy a few rubs and she will reward us with the gentle sounds of her purr. Plus, watching her sleep is also really soothing.  
 

4. Bonding time

Before this pandemic hit us, we were all probably working whole day, sometimes even out all night. But throughout this 1.5 years of lockdowns and restricted movement, we have noticed one big change in our furkids, especially Kayla. 
The husband (that WFH) has totally bonded with Kayla and Kayla in turn has totally become more attached to us. We adopted her 3 years ago from a family that didn't really interact with her much, and definitely did not train her in anything. She didn't even know how to get into a car. So when we first got her, she was a ball of restless energy that did not know any commands. We struggled to understand her and vice versa. 
To us, this is a silver lining. This MCO and restricted movement has allowed Kayla and us to get to know one another and truly bond ❤.
 

5. Give them space

Now...as much as we have bonded and all that, we also need to give them breathing space. Even if we are feeling frustrated from a bad meeting and desperately need a cuddle from Suki, but if she's not willing to give it, we can only step back and say maybe later hoping she will pity us and give in with a nice meow and purr. Else, we'll just end up with some permanent scars from her paws. 
Same goes for Kayla and Miki. Kayla is a lazybum. She can sleep whole day if we allow her to. So when she's in her deep sleep, no amount of cajoling is going to get her to move her butt. Unless.....we bring out her favorite treats! 
 
So there you have our 5 tips of surviving this pandemic working from home with our 2 dogs and 1 cat. 
Tell us about your story with your pet, and don’t forget to share this post!