I am not a cat person, but my boys are crazy about all animals. Recently we left some chicken on our back porch. There wasn't room in our upstairs freezer and I didn't have time (well, motivation may have been what I was really lacking) to trim it and put it in bags for the downstairs freezer, so we set it out in the snow. When I went to get it later, it was frozen to the cement. I decided Kevin should be the one to chip it out and forgot about it. The next night, some cats got into it. We wouldn't be eating it after that, so I continued to ignore the problem and a week later it was all gone. Now we have a cat who has been hanging out in our yard for the past 2 days (and nights). Jack named him Scamper after Scamper the penguin because he's also black and white. I've insisted that we are NOT bonding with this cat, but the boys can't help themselves and even Kevin took pity on him and gave him a bowl of milk last night. He is a nice cat, but I really hope he returns to his family soon. The good weather combined with the presence of this fluffy friend made the boys unable to stay indoors all morning.
(Pretty impressive how Noah can balance the binoculars like that, right?)
Jack was genuine in his love and enthusiasm for the kitty*.
Taylor just wanted to be in the picture, snotty nose and all.
It was pretty cold, so this is the solution they came up with. The idea of coats didn't seem to even cross their minds.
*if this cat looks familiar to any of you, please let me know. =)
Post Edit: After posting this I got an email from a friend in my neighborhood who had a flyer left on her door last week telling of a missing black and white cat. (thanks Kim!) The family had just moved in and then their cat disappeared. She'd already thrown out the flyer, but remembered a general address. I sent Kevin out tonight with the mission of locating that family and after four wrong houses, he was directed to the right one. They were thrilled! The cat had been missing for 2 and a half weeks and they were giving up hope. I'm convinced my chicken fiasco was meant to be and that poor, lost cat is alive today because of my lack of motivation. Isn't that nice? :)
Jack is pretty sad at the loss of his pet. He'd gone out to the shed and held it for hours both yesterday and today. The vague whim he previously had toward pet ownership seems to now be the sole desire of his heart. I love it. and I hate it. He was so sweet with Scamper (Kevin didn't find out his real name). I'm not sure what to do, so I really hope he goes back to not caring too much because I'm not sure how long I can resist his teary pleas. I just love his tender little heart and after reading the first quote from this post the other day, I'm very torn on the subject. Any thoughts?
I love cats, and pretty much all other furry creatures. I can't help it when I say, "Keep the kitty! I love you Scamper!"
ReplyDeleteThis is too funny!
ReplyDeleteSee, these are the kind of moments I wish I would have taken pictures of!
Cats are easy, easy pets. All you have to do is feed them and let your kids play with them. Unless they're inside animals, there's no mess to clean up, no training to do, no jumping up, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think cats are ideal for teaching kids how to be gentle. If a child is rough with a cat, it will run away or scratch -- it hurts enough that a kid gets the message, but not enough that it doesn't heal quickly. Immediate consequences! It only takes once or twice before a child learns to respect how a cat wants to be treated.
I agree with Christina. Get a cat!
ReplyDeleteI love that you found the cat- we held on to the flier for a bit and the girls were hoping to claim the $50 reward. I guess returning the pet to its loving owners may be reward enough? :)
ReplyDelete