Saturday, September 9, 2006

She's Driving Me Crazy...

     How could such a sweet and innocent face be so full of mischief and defiance???  Yes, I'm talking about that cuddly little kitten I brought home a few weeks ago...

     OK...I accept the fact that she's a feline and I also accept the fact she is a kitten...those two things alone should have been enough to steer me clear of this adventure!  LOL  But no...I just HAD to have a cat and I just HAD to have that cat be a kitten...DOH!

     The first week WAS all warm and fuzzy...she was just barely over 8-9 weeks old, recovering from having her female parts ripped from her tummy, and life at the homestead was full of new surprises and adventures for her.  I WAS her dominant human/caretaker/mother of sorts...that lasted about a week.

     She became increasingly "unhappy" with my decision to have her sleep in her own cozy bed in the living room and NOT in my private sleeping quarters with my bedroom door closed.  How do I know she is/was unhappy with this?  Because she promptly URINATED in my bed the first opportunity she had to dart into the inner sanctum!  Not once, but twice!!!  I got the message...the resolution?  She's just not allowed in my bedroom anymore for now.

     The first week or two, little Miss Kitty was far too small to make the giant leap from floor to countertop...she minded me soooo well, too...all I had to do was say her name and "no" in the bathroom to keep her from jumping toilet to sink.  I even bragged openly about how smart she was and how quickly she could learn...I was in cat heaven.

     Today, I came home from work rather exhausted, only to find little Miss Thang prancing wildly on the kitchen countertop...I guess she's grown a bit in two weeks!  Telling her "no" and removing her only seemed to make a game out of the event, so I tried to resort to distraction...that worked for about 5 minutes, until she saw the steam rising from the ear of corn I was boiling for my supper!  I finally just turned off the stove and proceeded to eat a partially cooked ear of corn...or atleast I TRIED to.  I've just discovered tonight, the cat food is hers, and the human food is "ours"...I finally had to stand up at the counter in the kitchen with watchful eye to snarf down my food. 

     Then it was off to the bathroom.  I should have known she was up to something by this time...she was just too quiet.  I found her attempting to dismantle the bathroom sink (you know, the one I thought she was so "smart" in avoiding?!?).  A bit more stern talk and "no's"...only to discover the toilet paper roll spun out on the floor like a grand opening ribbon awaiting it's cut!

     She calmly let me cut her claws THE FIRST WEEK...now her talons are so brutally sharp, I may have to get a padded suit to wear just to be around her.  She'll have nothing to do with the fine art of nail grooming these days.

     I suppose I should just accept the fact that in "cat years", she's in her terrible two's phase...she's just going to drive me nuts for the time being and I will need to learn to be less "anal" and live with it.  After all, isn't that what parents of HUMAN children learn to do?

     I can hear her right now in the bathroom again...most likely she is swinging from the shower curtain or licking the tiny pools of bathwater still standing from my morning shower.  I really need to remember not to throw the baby out with the bathwater...mantra time...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Spray bottles are very effective on kitties.  LOL!  A little cold water goes a long way in getting your point across when a verbal spanking doesn't seem to register.  Don't let her see you use it though!!

Oh, and if you really can't seem to get the nails clipped, roll your kitty up in a towel with the paw sticking out (one at a time preferably) and you can cut them that way...  Usually though you wouldn't need to clip if she uses the scratching post...  A spritz of liquid catnip will make it more appealing for her if she refuses to use it!

Hope those tips helped - even a little.  :)

Hugs!
Peej