It Looks Like I Slept In A Raspberry Patch... An Update on the Little Deaf Kitty. [View all]

[DonRedwood]

This is the kind of month that can leave your knees shaking and your stomach in knots. Several hundred of my coworkers were laid off. Of my team of six, I am the only one who didn’t get a pink slip. For the past month I’d been waiting for it, trying to stay calm and not freak out.

So Fate, in her usual manner, decided now would be a really good time to screw with everything else in life, because why have just one piece of craziness going on when you can have a dozen? I don’t want to bore you with all the details but just imagine how you’d feel if you woke up one morning and everyone you work with was gone, Michele Bachmann was President, the weight of the world was on YOUR shoulders and one of your teeth fell out. Just one serious mind-****(bleep) after another.

It was that kind of month.

And I was seriously close to freaking out. My partner and I have never had an argument, but we got close. Emotionally I was getting to that stage where even little things were upsetting me. Last week I started crying because my French press coffee came out tasting gross. Seriously. It was not looking pretty.

And then we brought home the little deaf kitten.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022908026 (It Is Very Quiet In His Little World)

I cannot begin to tell you all what an amazing addition to our home he has become. Our first reaction to figuring out he was deaf was sadness. But, let me tell you, there hasn’t been much sadness since. This little fellow has been such a light in our life! So much so, that I’ve been coming home from my terrible situation at work and the minute I walk in the door, I’ve forgotten everything about work. Everything. I mean, who can even think about work with a tiny white kitten crawling up your leg purring and chirping “hello!!!”

We are doing our best to figure out how to train him. Three gentle taps for “no” has been working (most of the time) but that doesn’t help much when the kitten is waking you up by biting your nose at 3 in the morning. We bought a couple of spray bottles but we haven’t used one yet. We don’t want to scare him unless it is a big rule (climbing the drapes, eating my face, etc.).
He meows a little but mostly he has little chirps and purrs. When I get home from work and he sees me for the first time he’ll jump up in the air and start purring immediately and then he runs as FAST AS HE CAN to me. His purr is so loud I can hear him purring from across the room as he runs. It melts my heart!

We still talk and sing to him as much as our other pets. We haven't picked a name yet and my partner said, "We can just let people call him whatever they want since he can't hear it." When he looks at us we say "Meow". It might sound silly but when you say "meow" your mouth moves in a really distinct way. We don't know what his name is yet, but he's coming now when he sees our mouth form the word meow.

We’ve learned to make sure he sees us go when we leave the room or the house. Otherwise he cries and cries while he searches for us. Our older cat as been OK about the things but he is sick of the kitten attacking his tail. The kitten can’t hear his warning meows or hisses. But so far our older cat has been a good cat uncle and has merely gotten up and walked away. We’re keeping his nails trimmed just in case, bus so far he’s been pretty nice about the whole thing.

And our Big Old Moose of a dog (85 lbs the last time we weighed the beast) continues to be the most amazing dog. The kitten has three favorite things in the world: chewing on the dog’s tail, chewing on the dog’s ear or attacking the dog’s paw. “Get the Paw” is probably his favorite since no matter what the dog is doing there is a paw the kitten can reach. (Here is game #4311 of “Get the Paw!”)

And through it all that Big Moose has taken chomp after chomp from those shark-like kitty teeth, and swipe after swipe of those dagger-like little kitty claws. She just patiently sits there while the kitty crawls on her back, her head, roots around for some milk, gnaws her snout, her leg, her ears. She is gentle and sweet. We knew we had a good dog but this kitty has shown us just how blessed we are with our Giant Moose Dog.

And so this scrappy little deaf kitten that we thought really needed us, just might be what we really needed. The Moose has a little buddy she adores, and licks, and frolics with all day, our older cat gets a break from being frolicked with by 85 lb dog all day, and my partner and I get this tiny little white piece of fluff who makes us giggle and laugh pretty much all day long.

And my stress almost seems gone. I’m sad about work but I can’t do anything about it. But it isn’t hanging over my life like a black cloud now either. All I can think about is the kitten. What is he doing? Where did he go? Why do my legs look like I slept in a raspberry patch? Now what is he knocking over?

And he’s so cute that I just keep melting every time I look at him. I’m even taking naps for the first time in my life because the kitty is sleepy and all I want to do is curl up with him. (My partner is upstairs right now curled up asleep on the bed with this little white tuft sticking out from under his arm). At night he sleeps in my armpit. At least until 3 a.m. or so when his desire for nose biting wakes him up.

So there is an update on our new little friend. He’s put on a little weight, no more fleas, his being deaf has made us love him more but I don’t think we love him as much as the Big Moose does. All is well. He found a really good home and we found a really good friend.

And now I know the answer for stress, sadness and misery. Kittens. Kittens!! KITTENS!! For God’s sake people, if you are feeling down, if you’re sick or downtrodden, I highly recommend this amazing cure-all. Kittens. (except for scratches…that is the major side-effect to kittens).

Have an awesome weekend everybody.