Like any typical 4 year-old girl, Ava is fascinated by pets, and more importantly, cats. She loves kitty-cats. We have a cat at home, named Baby, so you'd think that Ava just adores her, right? Sadly, this is not the case. Ava is terrified by the daunting feline. And Baby totally and completely despises her. In fact, Baby despises everybody that enters our household, save for Andrea and I. Considering that we saved Baby from being abandoned by her mother back when she was a tiny furry ball of a kitten, I can see why the cat has an innate desire to protect us from any potential harm possibly caused by outsiders. And our own offspring are no exception.
Ava and Baby (or "Baby-cat," as Ava sometimes calls her) have this intense on-going power struggle that is engaged on a daily basis. Sometimes Andrea or I are suddenly jerked awake by the shrill of a little girl, offset by a low, gutteral growl that sounds almost inhuman, as one of the two foes probably tried to pass the other in the dining room, wherein Baby-cat probably hissed and violently batted her paw out at Ava (the cat's been de-clawed, so no blood loss, thankfully), and Ava reacting in horror. It's sad for us, being the parents of this sweet and quiet-natured little girl, to witness Ava having to face the harsh reality of hatred on a day-by-day basis from the menacing house-cat, who is obviously going against the whole concept of being a nice, sweet "pet." Not what Ava usually witnesses on Seseme Street, that's for sure.
But that doesn't keep Ava from drawing a sweet little doodle of a kitty-cat on a sheet of paper that had some of my own doodles on it done while at work. She's drawn this type of cat many times since, eventually adding an extra line or two on the bottom of the stick-legs for feet. I just love the way she drew the ears and face here. And check out the tail! Very cute.
As for Ava and Baby-cat, not to worry. They still have this silent agreement to hate each other, but Ava's found a feline friend in this tabby that hangs around our neighborhood. This cat allows Ava to touch and pet her, thereby giving Ava the satisfaction of owning a true loving pet, even if it is vicarious.
It's funny how cats who have seen the harsher side of life have an aversion to little people. My cat, as well, is named Baby and whenever our neighbors kids rampage through our house she is ne'er to be found. She is also a rescued kitty, forever stunted in her growth from being a stray, forever wary of water, since the local kids used to throw her into a pool. I'm hoping she makes it to see the birth of my children, since she's been with me since I was 16, & she's my first Baby. So nice to hear other Baby=cats are out there, declawed [yes, mine is too] and still sassy.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see that Ava doesn't draw Baby as all teeth and claws. It looks like Baby has a smile. I'm sure Ava would be friends if the cat would.
ReplyDeleteMy wife is pregnant, due in October. We have been wondering how our cat, Gunnar, will deal. Gunnar wasn't a stray, but he's not used to people other than my wife and I. When we babysat a friend's two children, the cat stared at us as if he had been betrayed.
poor ava... poor baby-tat... destined to be friendly enemies forevermore. and ava, she tries-- she tries so hard to make friends (just look at how sweetly she has drawn her here)... I feel so bad that this hasn't been the most positive experience for her. every time we eat at fellini's and she gets to throw a penny in the fountain, she wishes for a dog. it doesn't help that baby also scares the crap out of uncle nate every time he is over and so he now refers to her as the 'spawn of satan'... but baby had a rough little life before she came into ours and she is only protecting herself.and now that ezra has hit the scene, baby-cat's world has REALLY been upended...
ReplyDeleteIt's okay, I got a hamster once for my birthday and we were enemies since the day i picked him up at the pet store, held him, and jerked as he bit me. But it wasn't long (well ok, it was about 6 months) before we were buds and he bit everyone's hand besides mine. I bet Ava and Baby will turn out to be like that too. :)
ReplyDeletewhy would you have an animal in your house that despises your kids? Get rid of it!
ReplyDeletefelix, felix, felix. if only it were that simple. let me start out by clarifying something: if I ever ever EVER thought my children were in any sort of danger at all, you better believe I'd take care of the problem quicker than you can say bob's yer uncle. she is an all indoors, de-clawed kitty and really pretty much stays out of everyone's way. but we live a somewhat rambunctious life in rather close corners and so paths are going to cross. and just for the record, baby-cat despises EVERYONE (not just ava and ezra)-- except for ward and myself. we were just starting out together, we rescued her and we are quite attached to her, despite her cantankerous ways. that being said, I do love my children about 53 zillion times more than her, so I have thought about all the options available more than once. she's too old and set in her ways to be given to anyone (like anyone would want her) and I just can't bring myself to have her put to sleep. and come on, you know that if I took her to the animal shelter, that's EXACTLY what would go down. it's a big, bad world out there, people. just can't kill the baby-cat. not unless she goes wacko and threatens us in an unprecedented way. so there you have it. bet you didn't expect to get an earful, eh?
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