Things the Kitten Has Taught Me...

As you may remember, we got a kitten a few weeks ago. This is the first "roaming" pet we've had for a couple of years. Our dog (of 15 years) died three years ago and our cat (of 16 years) died six months later. The kids have been begging for a new pet pretty much ever since.

Having Ace (DS 3's name choice) around has given us some reminders that I think are life lessons for all of us:

He's a "baby". He's curious. He gets stuck in places where he shouldn't be in the first place. As I'm typing this, my DH found that Ace has discovered a hole in between two cabinets in the kitchen...I didn't even know this space existed in the house! You can be certain, though, if there's a space to be found, he'll find it. Lesson: We need to be careful with our choices, because we "could" get stuck!

He DOES have enough love to go around for everyone in the family. DS 3 is doing most of the caretaking. He's never really been able to pick out a pet and we let him pick this one out. And while he's a family cat, DS 3 is bonding a bit more. This bothers animal-lover and possible future vet, DS 1. But the cat is content to be given attention by anyone. Lesson: Be friends. Make friends. Nurture your friendships.

Napping is important. I've determined that Ace is a "circuit napper". Some of you do Curves and understand "circuit exercise". Ace finds a comfy spot and rests there a while, then he stretches and moves to his next spot. He has about 4 stops on his current circuit. Lesson: We need to rest once in a while.

When someone (or something) leaves your family, they are never really gone. We find him resting in the same places in our house that Sushi (our former cat) used to frequent. We can only figure that some part of Sushi must still be there and draw him to it. Lesson: People (and pets) leave handprints on our hearts even when they are no longer around.

Pets (like children) can reduce adults to do things they wouldn't normally do. DH has shared scallops, fish, and chicken with the cat. I'm thinking this is only a "glimpse" of the softie he'll be when we have grandchildren! Lesson: Sometimes we "do" sweat small stuff..but as we get older, we start to recognize it.

When they play, they play hard. Ace has a scratch pole with toys on it. He goes at that thing with all the gusto he can. It's funny to watch...Lesson: This is a lesson we should all learn.

Who among us hasn't envied a cat's ability to ignore the cares of daily life and to relax completely? ~Karen Brademeyer