Politics, Pandemic, and Pete the Cat

How a stuffed animal got me through perilous times

My fondness for stuffed animals, cats, in particular, began in March 2020.

Mind you, I am a 74-year-old woman.

Are you thinking I’m too old for stuffed animals? Or crazy to want a “stuffy”, as my grandkids call them, of my own? Or that I’ve officially gone off the deep end?

Do I care what you think?

The answer is no!

During the year 2016, I didn’t care much about anything except for a way to calm my fears. I watched as America, as I knew it, started going to hell in a handbasket and I had no power to stop it and few skills to handle it.

I believe the descent into hell began when Hillary Clinton lost the Presidential Election on November 8, 2016, to Donald Trump.

Yes, I was one of those who called in sick the next day because I was so devastated. Call me a snowflake, I don’t care! I was terrified of a Trump Presidency, with good cause.

But I am not here to write about the evils of Donald Trump, plenty has been written about that to prove my point. I am here to write about how helpless I felt when I lost faith in the leaders of our country.

Although I must admit, I did feel a glimmer of hope when I watched Pete Buttigieg run for office in the 2020 election. I believed that the young, mayor from Indiana might be able to right the wrongs of our country if enough people believed in him as I did.

But, my excitement was short-lived — he dropped out as a candidate on March 1, 2020.

That’s when Pete the Cat was born. I needed something to soothe my soul, but what? I was so sad and fearful. I’d sit and listen to the ugly rhetoric of the campaign on TV in a zombie-like state.

My friend, who also leans left, said she makes a cup of tea and snuggles with her cat for comfort.

So in the wee hours of the morning, doing nothing but doom-scrolling, I tapped on Amazon and ordered myself a stuffed animal, an orange tabby kitty, and named him Pete.

Unfortunately, Pete the Cat only gave me comfort for a short while, because while suffering through politics, there was now nervous talk of a deadly virus heading our way from China.

On March 11, 2020, after more than 118,000 cases in 12 countries, and 4,291 deaths, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

I felt like Chicken Little — running around in a panic yelling — the sky is falling, the sky is falling to anyone within earshot.

I was certain the end was near. I needed comfort now more than ever, so again I tapped on Amazon and ordered another little stuffed kitty. This time, grey and white.

I named her Sweet Pea, she was purrfect!

I called a like-minded friend to commiserate about the state of our country. As we talked politics, I laughed and said “Betsy, I think I’ve crossed the line into madness, I can’t watch the news anymore without clutching a fake kitty”

I didn’t know why Betsy was laughing so hard until I got her text message with a picture of her holding her new stuffed dog. She called it her “emotional support animal”.

Great minds think alike! Two old ladies with two new stuffies.

Betsy and I can’t be the only 2 senior citizens who are grasping at something to make us feel safe in an unsafe world, can we?

As I started to look into it, I was shocked to read that 40% of adults sleep with stuffed animals according to an article written by Jonathan Bender.

Sarah Gannett, a writer for the New York Times, found several studies showing that plush companions can help adults self-soothe. She concluded that hugging a stuffed animal decreased a person’s stress level and stated that “It was the single most important thing in getting a better night of sleep”.

So there you have it my fellow senior citizens — faux, furry, friends are good for you at any age.

I found myself knocking on Amazon’s door once again in the middle of the night, this time I ordered a calico cat just for the hell of it. Now I have triplet kitties and have become the crazy cat lady.

Laugh if you will, I don’t care! That’s one benefit of old age.

I added to my collection of fake animals this past summer when I was recovering from surgery. A dear friend brought me a goody bag to make me feel better after I got home from the hospital. I was experiencing some, shall I say, difficulty.

In my gift bag was a jar of prunes, 3 different kinds of laxatives, prune juice, and tea bags “To help you go” according to my friend.

Nestled in the bottom of the bag was a small stuffed elephant, A Warmie, which when placed in the microwave for 30 seconds will stay warm for a few hours. The warmth felt good on my gall bladder incision and hugging the elephant gave me comfort.

My friend repeated a story she had been told about elephants. Supposedly in the wild, if a female elephant is suffering, her sister elephants circle up around her to protect her. Dear Jennie was protecting me and I will be forever grateful.

According to the Build-A-Bear Workshop, there is a strong post-pandemic resurgence in demand for their “create-your-own” soft toys for adults.

Who knew adults loving on stuffed animals would become a thing?

Two very classy ladies in my neighborhood knew it was a thing. Annette, a beautiful dark-haired woman in her early 60s received a stuffed golden labrador retriever as a gift. She became so attached to her fuzzy pal that she bought her best friend, Linda a black one for Christmas.

Linda was recovering from a hospital procedure when I brought her dinner and stayed a while to visit. That’s when I fell in love with her pretty puppy. I held it all night and told her I might switch my affection from cats to dogs.

She surprised me a few days later when she arraigned to have Amazon deliver a black labrador retriever of my own.

I thanked her profusely and suggested we meet in our community dog park for a visit and a glass of wine, but that may be going a little too far.

But, who cares?

We are not quite ready for the AI-inspired toy animals that are popular with Alzheimer's patients. They purr and bark and wag their tails when petted, which does sound enticing.

However with another Presidential election gearing up — I might reconsider.

Feel free to join our ranks of senior stuffed animal lovers if you need support.

At our age, we’ve earned whatever it takes to get us through!