The Boys and The Cat

The boys have a problem with the cat. The cat likes stuffed animals. The boys liked stuffed animals. The boys do not like cat slobber (they insist they can smell it) on their stuffed animals. Every time they catch the cat with a stuffed animal (frequently), they get hysterical. Seriously so!

They rush to us and demand that we wash the stuffed animal. We wash it. The cat gets it again. Or we leave it on the washroom counter and the cat retrieves it from there and plays with it. One afternoon I was sitting at my computer and I noticed the cat trotting down the hall with something in his mouth. Taking a close look I realized it was one of the boys' stuffed dogs. I chased the cat down and returned it to the laundry room and shut the door. He's relentless.

A few nights ago Bentley came howling into our bedroom with his orange teddy bear and little moose. The cat had gotten them and slobbered on them. I tried reasoning with him. You let the cat lick your hair and you don't insist on a shower immediately afterwards, how is it different when the cat chews on your stuffed animals? Bentley was not open to reason. The animals had to be washed(yet again)and he also demanded that the cat be banned from his bedroom permanently.

I had to do damage control. I didn't want the cat to stay public enemy number one. "Why weren't the stuffed animals in your pillow case?" I asked. (That's where the boys have taken to hiding their favorite stuffed animals to protect them.) Bentley said he had too many favorites and they made his pillow lumpy. I was so done with this crazy conversation. "What if I give you a pillow case just for your stuffed animals? Then can the cat come in your bedroom again?" "Yes!" Crisis resolved. For now.



Notice that the cat is hiding under something. He KNOWS he's not supposed to be chewing on the poor little dog.