"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."― Anatole FranceI've never lived in a house without pets, and I hope that I never will. Ethan, Adam and I live with four cats right now, whose names' are, Sammy, Sooty, Shadow (pictured above) and Charlie. You can read a bit more in to them and their personalities here.
For me personally, as an animal lover, a house, be it any kind of house from extravagant to small, really wouldn't ever be a home until it's home to an animal. Our house feels full, warm and bright with our furry friends pottering about. They make the place lively, they make us laugh with all of the silly little things that they do, they keep me busy with all of the outside world that they bring in.. mud, leaves, mice.. (yeah, nobody said that it was easy being a pet owner!), they keep us warm and brighten our days when they walk over to use and park themselves on our laps, rubbing their heads towards ours. They mean they world to us. They are a part of our family.I worry about them just as I worry about other members of my family. I worry about them when they're out and about and when they shoot out of the cat flap, that unfortunately could only be placed on the front door, onto the very close road.
When I lived at home with my Mum, we very sadly lost far too many cats on the road. Though, we had one lucky little solider that survived after coming into contact with a vehicle. His name was Boots, he was brother to Bear and Son to Cocoa and he lost his leg after being hit by a car. This cost my parents £350 and it's fair to say that after this they looked straight in to cat insurance. Boots went on to live many more years, he came home after the surgery very timid, not himself, but within weeks was back to the cheeky little guy that we all knew and loved. He'd chase birds, climb fences and even roof tops (yes, really, with three legs!) and he even very intelligently somehow managed to grow his tail over on the side that he'd lost his leg. Don't ask how, but it kept him well balanced. Sadly, after surviving the collision and mastering his three legs instead of four, he's now no longer with us and neither are his Mum, Cocoa or his Brother, Bear. But they live in our memories, and we really do have some fantastic memories of them. They made my childhood what it was and they have played a very big part in helping to make me who I am today. That would be a cat-obsessed, animal rights enthusiast, strict-vegetarian who will always and forever have a soft spot for animals of any kind.
I have linked to Argos in this post but in reality you are spoilt for choice if you are looking to insure a pet. There are other providers you can find from searching on Google or Yell so I recommend you get quotes from more than one and compare what is covered.