Let’s face it…I settled when Chloe entered our lives. I wanted a long haired, furry, little white purrball of my dreams.You know, the cute Persian wearing a tiara from the poster in my room when I was seven?! Then our kids fell in love with the smelliest kitten on earth. (No I’m serious, her butt reeks.) When Phoebe on Friends wrote the song Smelly Cat, she had to have known Chloe would exist someday.
But the girls were smitten and I honestly didn’t care, our cat had just gone to heaven and I wasn’t ready to pick a new pet quite yet. So they did.
Poor Cat!
And now we have a lot more chaos in our house.
I thought a kitten would be easier than a puppy, and I’m sure that it is…but it’s still a bit of work. And there are some times when I think….”Did we just bring another baby into our house?” I mean I know technically she is a baby cat, but babies in general are just plain hard no matter what species! So here’s my take on how a kitten is sort of like having another baby.
how a kitten is sort of like having another baby
Litter Box Probz – Luckily little Diamond Sparkles (her original name), now called Chloe, came to us litter trained, but she pees and poops more than a baby. I’m serious…the litter box has to be cleaned a minimum of two times a day. I get it, she’s little. But can I get some help on litter patrol please?! Her aim is terrible by the way…stop kicking your poop all over my laundry room! It is easier of course than changing diapers.
Strange Baby Sounds – Do you remember the first night you tried to sleep with your baby in your room when you first came home from the hospital? To me babies sound like little billy goats at night…they make the strangest sounds. So do kittens. I don’t know what the gurgling/mewing noise is…but it reminds me of Gizmo from Gremlins. Or maybe one of those cute Star Wars Ewoks?
More Night Wakings – I thought the days of night wakings were over, but now the kitten needs attention at night. It appears my toes are her favorite companion at 3:00am. And like a baby, she likes to be close and cuddle up on one of our chests. I had to lock her out of our girl’s rooms at night because she was biting their toys and batting their hair.
Sleeps All Day – Of course much like a newborn she sleeps all day, when the kids actually want to play and taunt her. Remember the days of trying to keep a sleepy baby awake? We do that with poor Chloe.
Teething Trouble– Kittens chew everything. Toilet paper, the kids toys, our pens and pencils…and our hands. Teething rings help though, and luckily there’s no drool…but boy are those teeth are sharp!
Annoying Noisy Toys – I threw away all the noisy toys when our youngest turned two, but they’ve been replaced with annoying bell balls. I thought I had confiscated them all but somehow she finds them…and noisy toys still reign in our home. At all hours of the night. Why do cat toy manufacturers use bells? I don’t get it…
I Still Can’t Pee Alone – I finally have made it to the point where I can run back for two minutes a couple times a day to use the bathroom solo. But with Chloe now lurking behind every corner and under every bed waiting to pounce on us, as soon as I shut the door to the bathroom she’s there. First one little paw wedges its way into the door, then the other…and bam! She’s all over me, even tries to sit in my lap when I pee! I get it, she likes me…but I really do just want to be and pee alone sometimes!
To be honest, Chloe really is a saint of a kitten. Now around six months old she’s patient with the girls, fun and playful, a total purrball, and loves companionship. I think she’ll end up being a wonderful house cat…if we can get her to stop climbing the curtains! She chose us that day we visited the barn and I’m glad she did. Our house is a home again, even though I still miss my Prozac cat.
Thanks to Janine Huldie for inspiring this post…6 Ways a Puppy & Baby are Similar. And yes…I still want a puppy!
Cute post! Looks like she is right where she belongs!
PS. I LOVE Friends and that episode when Phoebe does Smelly Cat 🙂
Aw, you made me smile seeing that this was inspired by my puppy article and on the flip side I still want a kitten someday, too. So, we are pretty even I think 😉
Hahaha, I love the smelly cat reference! I am right there with you, Kristen. We rescued a puppy and I feel like I am back at the newborn stage!
I can imagine!!! Funny and cute how baby animals and our little tykes kinda mirror each other, as far as needs and care-taking. I’m sure at some point we will get a family pet…but hopefully it can wait until they are old enough and responsible enough to help out with all the responsibility that comes with it!
Aww!! Now you’re making me want one!!
Aww, this is such a cute post! We recently lost our house rabbit {she wasn’t caged and was litter trained}, and she was such a content senior bunny who slept all the time in my office while I was working. Now we have a 4 month old bunny who is into everything! Most of the molding as been chewed on, and I’m constantly bring in new cardboard boxes and toys for him to play with. He also ruined a phone charger and pair of shoes with his sharp teeth. I swear he looks for things to get into! But it’s nice having another companion again….even if he doesn’t sit still for more than 2 minutes. 🙂
I’ve never had a kitten, but I know puppies are so much work, which is why I keep putting it off.
While I don’t have a kitten (or any animal for that matter,) I can totally understand this post. I bet it was really fun for the girls to pick her out, name her and feel like they are “parents” to her. I had to laugh at the “Friends” reference. Seriously, we have been binge watching that show for over a decade. Hard core Phoebe friends…
That picture of your daughter with Chloe is just too adorable! Litter box days are still a vivid memory for me, even though our kitty left us over three years ago. That said, I’d rather change diapers than scoop a litter box. She sure is cute though.
You’re making me miss the kitten (and baby) days!! BTW, loved Smelly Cat (great clip)
It has been forever since we’ve had a kitten in the house since our oldest is allergic but we found ourselves with a puppy last year and it is exhausting! They need so much attention lol. It really is just like having another little one to watch after everyday 🙂
The litterbox stuff does get better because they stop going quite so much! It’s the same with puppies too, and babies! Newborns and their 8-12 poops a day. Yikes.
And our old cat’s butt smelled and I told Cassidy and he decided to get proactive and the next thing I heard was bath water running. The next thing I heard after that was the loudest yowl ever.
And Dinah sits on my lap when I go to the bathroom!
Eeek climbing the curtains! Puppies, kittens and babies are a whole world of problems aren’t they?! I remember when we got our puppy and her teeth fell out as she was teething. That freaked me out so much to find little teeth everywhere!
I have to take issue with that quote… we have no pets, but my house is still a mess and my wallet is still empty 😉 Seriously though, we talk about getting a dog, maybe next year, and I know it’ll be great, especially for the kids, but I worry about the training process!
i’ve ALWAYS said this… it absolutely feels like you have another child… esp when they’re little! good luck with that! ;0
Hahaha oh man …. my full-grown cat is who knows how old and she still does the night wakings. Really? Is it really time to chase a stray moth all over the house? Right now? At 2AM?
This post was a bit of a reality check for me though because I’ve been discussing what we’ll do once our Trinity kicks the bucket. Obviously we want another cat (at least for the mouse situation, for sure) but we can’t decide between kitten and full grown. We’ll be adopting from a local shelter so we’ll quite literally have the pick of the town. After reading this I’m kinda feelin full grown! HAHA
I want a kitten so bad!! I love cats and dogs. Our sweet Punky is our love.. and even though she is a dog, she is very cat-like.. so I bet she would love a kitty friend!
Get one! Just be prepared for a little more work! But enlist the kids to help you…