Journals > Behavior & Training > View Entry

10:51pm

PART ONE: Pet Ownership from a Four-year Old's Eyes

Featuring:

Nala

Spot

the late B…

My little one, who is nearly four, has a strong love for animals and it is something rather remarkable to watch. Whenever he is around animals, he will lower his voice and speak to them in a little sing-song voice, then shower them with the softest of pats and the swirl of squiggly fingers.

When my son was just shy of 2.5 years, my cat died of cancer. Baby Girl was my special-needs kitty, who was practically half blind, completely deaf and had a genetic disorder that left her rather unbalanced (only evident if she was in a new environment, or had lots of people around). She was the runt of a feral litter, and was abandoned by her mother ... a natural instinct since she knew the kitten would never survive in the world. Baby Girl was a Siamese mix, seal-tip with big blue eyes ... a gorgeous girl, that everyone adored, and I have to admit she was -- and is -- quite a conversation piece (as this digression clearly shows).

Well, Baby Girl's companion, Samantha (aka Pretty Girl) died a week later, also of cancer, although of a different kind. My grief riddled joke was "What? Did they give it to each other?" It was rather terrible timing, but perhaps fitting they passed on nearly together.

But it left a little boy wondering where his kitty cats were ... yet, as they say, life comes in cycles. Barely a month prior to the cats dying, my great-grandfather (my son's great-great grandfather) died. It was a unique bond ... spanning five generations where two year old and 93 year old always tried to outwit each other and in each other's eyes, the other was the apple of it ... So having already discussed death and heaven, which is near the moon and the stars, I explained to Reagan that Baby Girl, and then Pretty Girl all went to be with Pop-pop in heaven.

His big blue eyes welled-up ... "But I miss them." And as a mother would say, my only reply, was "Honey, I know. I miss them too, but they are always here with us watching over us ... and when we look at the moon and stars we can think of them ... He says, "But I not see them." My reply, "That's why we have our memories, so if we miss someone we can think over the happy times we had together."

These were some pretty deep conversations to have with a two year old, never mind how astute, which made me wonder if he really did understand everything. Well, it must have been a couple months later, when we were sitting at the computer and my background changed (yes, background ... thank God for Macs!) to one of Pop-pop and Reagan sitting lap and knee together. Reagan looks at it and says, "Where kitty cats?" My mind is scrambling for the context of this random comment ... then it dawns on me. He knows Pop-pop is in heaven, and the kitty cats are with him, so if he can see Pop-pop in the photo, then where are the kitty cats?!?

Out of the mouths of babes, they say, and this one left me choked up -- as it does now. Then I had to explain the relevance of time ... and how this photo was taken beforehand ... wowsers, they don't prepare you for this stuff in school, do they? SO, that was our August/September 2006 ...

Fast forward to October 2007. It had been just over a year, and enough time had passed that we could think about new family members. I had always wanted a Maine Coon ... so I started looking on Petfinder for just the right one. I started with the kittens, of course! Everyone wants a kitten ... but no sooner had a filled out applications, then they were adopted. And it was during this process that I learned my Dad was expecting a new litter of mousers ... so the helpful suggestion, was why adopt one, when you can have one off the farm? Well, it made sense, yet still I wanted a Maine Coon! It was a quandary for a little while ... but I soon figured it out!

I decided, we could get that farm kitten after all, so Reagan could grow up with it, as young children and animals develop very close bonds ... AND, we still could get a Maine Coon, but, get an older one. That made perfect sense! The two cats would have companions, Reagan would have a strong animal-bonding experience, I could get my Maine Coon, and we could save a more needy animal (by adopting a non-kitten)!

While Dad and Janie "tamed up" one of the more sociable kittens, Reagan and I hit the computer ... and that's when we found her. Nala was "BIG" which my little boy instantly loved, because she was like a puppy dog in his mind. But it was something in her lush green eyes that spoke to me ... it's that instant connection that you feel, "that's the one for me/us" ... and it seemed we were just right for her, since she was already used to kids, cats and dogs! (although we don't yet have a dog) But I think what was the absolute confirmation of this being our Nala, was that she and I share a rare trait ... the blessing of being ginger-haired girls!

Back at the farm, the runt of the litter, a little girl, seemed to be the best one for us, said Dad and Janie. So before we picked up Nala at the shelter, we brought home the tabby kitten. On the drive home, we discussed name options ... It was a three hour drive, so I thought it be a good time passer, yet, not more than five minutes into the conversation Reagan had already decided on a name, "Spot." It was perfect! The name that only a little boy could give to a striped cat!!! ayayiyi!

So in a two weeks time, we went from a household of two, to a home of four. Nala is more my cat, and Spot is more Reagan's cat ... by feline choice, which is pretty funny how they both sought out their human peer! Spot has the perfect disposition and loves to play with Reagan. The true test of her bond with him is how she is so docile and trusting that she lets him hold her any way he likes, even like a teddy bear. The two are beautiful together.

While Nala, who's about seven, doesn't so much play with Reagan, she instead acts as his surrogate mother. When we are getting ready for bedtime, she comes in, looks around, sniffs the whole perimeter and then nestles down on the edge of the room, as if she is making sure the bedroom is safe for his sleep. Meanwhile, two books are decided upon, and we then read our stories in bed. That's when she tiptoes over and listens at the edge of the bed, peering up at us. When the lights are turned out, and I leave them room, she leaves too, but if Reagan at all cries in the night, or hurts himself during the day, she is the first one by his side.

For as much as Reagan loves his Spot and Nala, every now and then he will ask about Baby Girl and Pretty Girl ... while he has a keen memory, the little fellow still is like typical children, who think self-indulgence is an essential. Our latest animal conversations have been about the desire to add another four-pawed animal to our home, a puppy dog. Stay tuned for Part Two to see how this one unfolds!