Cats Are The Devil

Maybe I should have named our kitten "Damien" or "Carrie."

When Maira gave me my kitten, I had no idea what I was in for at the time.  I've seen shows on Animal Planet about "cats from hell," but I figured those were special circumstances.  After owning a cat for exactly one month (at the time I started this post), I know for a fact that my kitten is a minion of Satan.  I'm just saying.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I think that Char is one of the most entertaining pets I've ever had.  As someone who only grew up as a dog owner, having a cat for the first time is different.  Especially since this is my first indoor pet as well.  

However, I am confirming some things that I already knew: cats are the devil.  No doubt.  I've never met an animal who gets its way regardless of how you feel.  Regardless of how many times I tell Char "no," she still tries me.  She does respond to my voice pretty well, but The Mrs... well, that's another story.

I got the kitten for The Mrs. and she gets terrorized at times.  Okay, maybe "terrorized" is the wrong word, but Char looks at her fingers as a chew toy.  Whenever The Mrs. does anything within Char's reach, her fingers get attacked.  It was cute during the first week, but now, it's irritating.

I took @MarjorieMcAtee's advice and bought "his and her" water guns for The Mrs. and I.  We run out of water constantly.  The water only serves as a temporary deterrent to Char.  She'll run off only to come back less than a minute later to continue doing whatever it was that got her sprayed.

I'm not sure if cats just have short term memories or just don't care, but she just doesn't learn as quickly as dogs that I've owned.  Still, she's such a cute and funny animal, that I wouldn't think of giving up on her.  I'll cut her some slack since I'm sure that since I'm new to owning a cat and The Mrs. hasn't owned once since childhood, that we may have missed some opportunities to train her.

So, each day, I'll do what I can to train her.  I also have to cat-proof some things.  Last week, she stepped on the "Off" switch on my surge protector and turned my TV and DVR off.  Had that occurred during a football game, then I would have lost it.  And it's only a matter of time before she's able to jump high enough to reach the top of my entertainment center where my plasma is located.  All bets are off at that point!

I have been met with a dilemma though: I was considering having Char de-clawed until someone explained to me how the process worked.  Now, I'm reluctant to do so given the procedure.

Am I overreacting on the de-clawing process or is there a better alternative to it?

OMG. I'm A Cat Owner...

"Meow, man.  Meow."

I'm was on Twitter on Friday morning and I came across a tweet: "HEY everyone!!! I've found 3 sweet kittens that need a good home! DM me if you're interested!!!:) they get along with dogs & other cats!"

Now, let me give you a little background about myself... I've always hated cats. I've hated them with a passion since I was a kid. I got my first dog when I was three and I've hated cats ever since. Dogs are loyal and protective. Cats are manipulative and selfish. At no time did I ever consider owning one, but then I married The Mrs... She wanted a cat. I didn't care. I told her that I'd do anything for her except get her a cat. I don't want one of those things walking around my house in the way. Scratching up furniture. Tipping over fragile things. Being a nuisance.

"HEY everyone!!! I've found 3 sweet kittens that need a good home! DM me if you're interested!!!:) they get along with dogs & other cats!" "

"Why is that tweet jumping out at me?" I think to myself.

The Mrs. hasn't been feeling the best as of late. Back problems. Something like this could brighten up her day. That's when the devil on my shoulder appeared. "Idiot," he started, "you know that you hate cats."

Then the angel appeared on the other shoulder, "Do you know how excited it would make her if you brought home a kitten?"

Devil: "Whatever. She wouldn't like him because she didn't pick him out herself."

Angel: "She'll be happy with whatever you bring home. She'll be stunned that you love her enough to go against your dislike of cats."

(Sigh) I tweeted to the owner, "Do you have photos of them?"

Three photos appeared on my timeline and one of them jumped out at me.

"Ooh! Ooh!  Pick me!  Pick me!"

I contacted the young lady with the cats. She's local. I started following her on Twitter about two or three months ago because she came off as a pleasant and positive person. She agreed to meet me at a restaurant within walking distance on my job. I get out of my car and walk around to hers when I'm met by her dog, Dulce. A cute, little dog (couldn't tell you what kind though) who is running around the parking lot and maximizing the length of his leash.

Out pops the young lady who's giving me my choice of kitten. Her name is Maira.  She looks early 20's, Hispanic, long hair and very attractive. She smiles through her braces and reaches in the backseat for two kittens. Although they all looked similar, I knew that I wanted the one from the photo. There was no need to even look at the third kitten that was still in the car. I thanked Maira and got in the car with the kitten. On my way home, the kitten tried to climb up on my shoulder while I was driving. I immediately started thinking of the recent blog post I did about unrestrained pets in cars.

However, I manage to hold him until I got home. The fact that he seemed so friendly was appealing.  He was growing on me already.  I get inside the house and I'm hiding the kitten behind my laptop bag. The Mrs. looks at me funny as I approach her. I pull out the kitten and she has this look on her face as if Ashton Kutcher is going to pop out and tell her that she's been "Punk'd."

I later texted Maira to tell her how big of a smile the kitten put on The Mrs.' face. I offered her to let me send her something to show my appreciation, but she said, "just knowing y'all will be happy is more than enough."

Such a sweet girl.

So, after the first 100+ hours, a trip to Petco and cat-proofing my electronics, I'll admit that it's not so bad... yet. The Mrs. named him "Char," which is short for "charcoal" and the name of one of our favorite restaurants.

Omg. I'm a cat owner.  What have I done?