Crack Cat

A few months ago, we kind of went out on a limb and bought a kitten. Tyson and I had talked about getting a kitten a few times before, but we were always postponing it for one reason or another. Well, out of the blue, we visited our local pet store and decided to buy one. He was pretty cute and the boys were so excited for a cat. So we got him. We didn't have anything for him yet, but we bought him regardless. Bad idea. Word of advise, don't ever buy a kitten on a whim...and honestly, maybe never buy a kitten at all...especially a 5-week-old kitten. They are a pain!

When we first got the little guy home (yes, it was a boy...so I was even more outnumbered than before), he seemed like a pretty mild-mannered cat. We named the little guy Archemedes. Not only was it a fun name, but Tyson and I loved hearing the boys say it. It was pretty cute. Anyway, Archemedes seemed like a nice cat, he would play with the boys, but then cuddle and fall asleep. The first week he never scratched or bit any of us. However, that all changed. Soon, the crack cat emerged. He honestly acted like he was on crack all the time. He started biting and scratching all of us. In fact, he would never sit still and if you ever tried touching him, he'd start biting. Now don't get me wrong. I really don't think he was doing it to be mean, I just think he thought that is how you played, but he never stopped and as he got older, his bites and scratches just got worse. So we made the sad decision to give him away. I didn't like this decision, because even though I started really disliking the cat, I felt bad giving him away. However, after some talking, we decided that it would not be safe to have a cat like that with our young boys and the new baby. So Archemedes went away.

It actually is a sad tale...however, I'll admit, I don't miss Archemedes at all. However, the boys miss him, so we promised Kallen that once Baby Liam got older, we'd get another cat. Kallen tells us that "we will get a new cat when Liam is older...a nice cat...one that doesn't scratch". He honestly says that. So maybe in a little while, you'll see another post talking about a new cat, because the boys were pretty cute with the kitten...at least for that first week. And even when he was a crack cat, they still loved him. So we'll get another cat...someday. I mean, honestly, how can you tell a little boy we'll never have a cat again when he was so cute and would read Archemedes stories. You just can't.

So what did we learn from all of this? First, don't buy a cat on a whim. Bad idea. Second, don't buy a kitten unless you are prepared for some big problems and annoyances. Get an adult cat who has a MELLOW personality. Kittens are dang cute, but sooo much trouble. Third, buy a girl cat...especially if you already have too much machoism in the house as it is. Those are the lessons.