We talked recently about having a family pet.

To be honest, there is generally a lot of talk about animals in our house as we live next door to a farm so we regularly see chickens roaming or get woken up by a rather noisy cow mooing first thing in the morning, but aside from all the farmyard animals we also have a cat.

The cat provides much amusement to everyone that visits us, mainly due to the fact that she has no tail. She was unfortunately ran over as a kitten and lost her tail (and some of her sense of humour, which is hardly surprising) and now runs a little bit like a rabbit. She also has a thing about running after the farmers dog but that is a whole other story.

We are very definitely a cat family, we are always up to something and cats are so much more independent than dogs, which works for our busy family. 

She is absolutely part of the family, she maybe bonkers but then again that is probably why we love her. We keep trying to convince my Nan to get a cat, she is almost 90 years old and cannot walk very well, so a dog is out of the question as the poor thing would never get walked but a cat would be perfect for her from both a companion and affection point of view.

Sunrise Senior Living have put together an infographic to show just how beneficial it can be to elderly people to have a pet, from improving physical health, mental health and overall sense of wellbeing.

I know a few children that are scared of cats and dogs and I think having a pet at home promotes a good understanding and tolerance of animals from a young age but the happiness they bring is ageless. You can be 9, like my daughter or 90, like my Nan and somehow having a pet can bring rewards no matter what your age.

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This infographic was provided by Sunrise but all pets and grandparents are our own!