Cat Parenting
Posted by Kate on Wednesday, August 30, 2006Okay, I know a lot of people out there don't understand the cat/owner relationship and will think I am crazy for making parallels to actual real parenthood, but here it goes anyway.
Today I was cleaning our bathroom. I was using bleach so I had the window open and the the door open. The bottle said to spray and let it sit for five minutes. So I sprayed behind the toilet and let it sit while I started washing part of the wall on the other side of our average-sized bathroom. Meanwhile the cats have been good and have been doing their own thing in the kitchen-- till I turn around and see Zoe walk into the bleach and lay down.
I ran over grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, then adjusted her to a grip under my arm and turned on the shower. Zoe, sensing my urgency and panic complete control of the situation, didn't even squirm. I gave her a very thorough washing, at which point there was of course squirming, but with no claws out. At one point she tried to grab ahold of my head and had their been claws out, I would have some pretty interesting scars.
When I had her clean and wrapped in a towel I sat down and took a few breaths. And it made me think back to an incident just a few weeks ago involving Zoe and a needle I left threaded on the table while I went to the bathroom.... Zoe, who about half the time is sweet and cuddly and half the time a defiant teenager, also has her toddler moments. And I have been given a window into how I will react in emergencies when someday I am a real parent. Hopefully by then Zoe will have trained me into a SuperParent who never leaves hazardous things unattended even for a split second.
Labels: Cats
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