Here Kitty

Mommy held the cat down last night. Our aloof cat usually avoids the children like a full litter box, and mommy felt it was time to change that. She held the cat in place while the kids each took a turn petting her.

One by one, the kids took a shot, with Abbie stroking her fur in an up-down motion, and the boys gently striking her body in that uncoordinated toddler way of petting.

The cat took the abuse well, mostly huddling into a tight protective kitty lump until mommy let go. Mommy was so pleased with the cat’s submissive behavior, that she took a moment to teach Abbie something. She pointed to the cat’s four white feet, and explained that we call those “socks.”

Abbie took the lesson well, immediately pointing out that the cat had “four white socks.”

Mommy, sufficiently pleased with the progress, let the cat go. The cat, determined to show us who was in charge, took a few minutes to strut about the living room instead of huddling in the basement to recover from its trauma. While the cat strutted about like she owned the place, Abbie fetched her shoes. She knows that shoes go over socks, and chased the cat trying to put shoes on her “four white socks.”