During this whole adoption journey, one of the thoughts in the back of my head has been: "How the heck are my kitties going to re-act to a kidlet joining our home"?
For those of you who don't know me that well - I am NOT the Crazy Cat Lady (but I do have 4 cats!). That title has been taken in my family already, by my wonderful Aunt Marion. She bestowed the title to herself, so it's NOT something we say behind her back. She's a cat lover and from her house in Northern(ish) California, she fosters unwanted/neglected cats and finds them forever homes. It's a wonderful thing to do, and I know I couldn't do it, because I couldn't give them all up!!
For those of you who don't know me that well - I am NOT the Crazy Cat Lady (but I do have 4 cats!). That title has been taken in my family already, by my wonderful Aunt Marion. She bestowed the title to herself, so it's NOT something we say behind her back. She's a cat lover and from her house in Northern(ish) California, she fosters unwanted/neglected cats and finds them forever homes. It's a wonderful thing to do, and I know I couldn't do it, because I couldn't give them all up!!
Being an animal lover is genetic on the Repp side of my family. It may have started with my Grandmother (Babushka for those of you paying attention) who I fondly remember taking in any animal, taking care of it and finding it a home when I was young. (There is even a story about a duck family who got frozen in a pond during a spring freeze, my Gramma taking Gramps down to the pond to help the ducks and Gramps fell in.... well that's one way to break the ice! ) Most of Gram's 7 kids and numerous 13 Grandkids have pets and one cousin is even a Vet! Yes, we're serious animal fans in this family! So back to the story...
This weekend I had my cousin Jenni's girls (picture) with me most of Saturday and Saturday night. The girls come to my house often, however, my cats are NOT fans. It's not them, it's ALL children. Kids are little, they move fast and they tend to like animals -- and so they chase the kitties. Not fun in the eyes of my furry crew. Typically they all scatter in various directions when the pitter patter of little feet arrive.We spent most of Saturday in "tiring out activities": Lexington, MI's Art Fair (cool!), Petsmart for cat food (always fun), Kohl's for the big sale (wait? Kohl's had a sale? NO WAY), Staples for ink cartridges (boring), and Cici's Pizza at the girl's request (not the best pizza, but what a bargain!). Saturday evening we went out to another cousin's house for more tiring out activities: playing outside in a LARGE back yard with lots of kid toys and kids! By the time we got home, it was time for baths and bed. The girls camped out on the floor of my room with the aforementioned Aerobed (see Graciegate '08!) since there is no more guest room in the house and no one wanted to sleep in the crib! They watched a little Spongebob during settling down time (always a favorite), while they were watched from above by kitties on my bed. Now this didn't help the settling down mind you... but it was cute.
By the time the girls drifted off to sleep, my cats were fully intrigued. Gracie actually slept with the girls part of the night. Roo and Nougat stayed close by much of the time to "guard" the girls and Murphy hung out, but just for treats in his usual move. By the time morning came, they were much more comfortable with the girls, and while still not best friends -- it was definitely progress! So I am hopeful that like when adding any new member to the household, there will be a slight adjustment process, but eventually they'll learn to like the little Russian!!
4 comments:
What a great aunt you are!! Glad to hear that your kitties are warming up to the little ones.
Yes, introducing a toddler into any pet's home is a challenge. First, Blake would tell you that they're not trustworthy. They pitch a toy occasionally that narrowly misses his head, they don't allow him his full Boxer naps because they want to 'mess with him', they are fascinated with his food (no one understands the kibble fixation but both our children have it), they take up WAY too much of Mom's time and they are too noisy for a really good quality slumber. So .. that's what Blake wanted to tell your kitties. It's a tough road so savor their nap time each and every day. :) Tamara
Thanks Blake!!
Amy,
I adored this post! You are so right about animals, especially the cats :) We have 2 dogs (whom Lukie did not like in the beginning, now he can't get enough of climbing on them, using them as step-stools, etc.), 3 cats (we are actually cat-sitting for my sister...long story) and we had 3 hermit crabs (they met their fate in between trips to Russia, it was sad, as my older son says...but in the same breathe he asked for a turtle, a fish or an actual crab...oh great :/ ). Ryan and Luke love our kitty cats but the cats need to warm up to them most of the time, lets just say it was a wise decision to get them declawed :)
Best,
Jenny
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