30 August 2009

Hello Kitty

Last Tuesday, we adopted the newest member of the family. Can you guess which one it is?

The fluffy white one by the way!

I like having a pet, always had one. We had cats growing up, the Dad had dogs. There where also gerbils, a hamster called Spartacus, and now there is Marvin the cat. And what a good cat he is. He still needs to learn some of the ground rules of the house, like no cats aloud on counter-tops and tables, but he has been great with Cathal. Cathal loves him, one of the reasons we decided to get a pet was so that it might encourage Cathal to get moving across the floor, other than rolling. The first day Marvin was home, he was on the couch, Cathal was on the floor, and Cathal tried to pull himself up against the coffee table to get a look at the cat. There was about a centimetre of space between the floor and his bum for 20 seconds.....the Dad and I were floored.....that's the first time he has attempted any kind of pulling himself up. I think we made the right decision. Cathal is also very good at rubbing him, although he does get a little over excited and tends to then hit or grab the cat's skin and pull. And the cat just takes it.

Pheeeewww!

And where did we find such a fine cat I hear you ask?

From the DSPCA. Marvin was abandoned. His right front leg got broken some how, his family brought him to the vet, the vet fixed him up, and then the family would not collect him and refused to answer the phone. He was there 4 weeks before the vet brought him to the DSPCA. In these tough times, people just can't afford their pets, and it is happening more and more. Although I sympathise with his previous owners, I still don't understand how some one can do this. At least they brought him to get treatment, but still.

When Cathal was born, we should have just sent him back too, "Sorry, this ones got a messed up heart, he's gonna cost too much to fix, take him back".

When you take on a pet, you take them on for life....Marvin is only 2, not a very long life so far.

So, to recap, we have a son who has CHDs and downs syndrome, and a cat with a dodgy leg (he has a big limp) which will probably develop arthritis in his old age which won't be covered by pet insurance!!! What are we like?

But, Marvin is the right pet for us, his personality and temperment fits us and Cathal perfectly, it's what's inside that counts :-)

7 comments:

Ria said...

Very true. It's what's inside that counts. We love our kids/ pets/ husband for who they are.

Mel said...

That's so cool. Luke did his first commando crawl in order to maul the cat! Great decision.

Anonymous said...

en effet deux petits êtres spéciaux d'un et deux ans avec deux parents spéciaux car géniaux et tout plein d'amour. c'est aussi une bonne idée car kitty va sans doute pousser cathal à faire plein de choses. Alors bien venu à kitty. brieuc et guilherme l'aiment déjà. et gaétan a dit "wawa" (comme pour les chiens) en voyant la photo.
bisous à vous 4
dom and co

Nan P. said...

Well, well, "look what the cat dragged in..." A bum off the floor!

Cathal, I am barely gone a week, and you are trying to lift yourself up! There is no stopping you now, is there?

Lisamaree said...

Well I used to hate all cats. But now I hate all cats except that one. xx
(*shakes head in amazement*)
xx

Val said...

Awww what a lovely cat.

Béibhinn's adventure said...

It's so true, how animals brign children on. My brother in llaw has klinefelter syndrome and when they got a dog, and called it rex it was his first word. We got ducks for our little one and it was her first word. I work with autisitc children and many of the children have guide dogs, which keep them so calm and gets them to refocus, if they are having a hard time of it.