The Poor Cat

Our cat really did have the life once.  We got her when she was a little fur ball of a kitten back in the late 1990's.  Her days consisted of napping, lying in the sun, eating and then a little more napping.  When our first baby was born in 2003, the cat would mosey around to check him out.  A little purr let us know that she thought the new baby was welcome and a part of the family.  This acceptance drastically changed however when our baby began to crawl and pull on everything he could reach.  There was no toy half as interesting to him as our cat.  He even began to take his first steps and walk in full pursuit of his helpless four legged friend.  It was as though the cat's tail was the ultimate goal and her ears were made of candy.  Our cat's life only got worse as we continued to have three more children.  Time and time again she was pounced on, pulled on and chased around the house.  "Here Kitty, Kitty!" has frequently been heard echoing through our house as the cat attempts to run for an unreachable hiding place with pure panic in her eyes. 
    As the kids and the cat have gotten older, they seem to be finding a mutual respect.  The cat doesn't seem to hate the four kids as much and has reduced her hissing to a minimum while the kids don't try to ride her like a horse anymore.  Why just last night, I even found our four year old lying on the cat, both as happy as can be wanting to fall asleep together.  We can only hope that the kids will learn to love and take care of animals from lessons learned from their beloved childhood cat.  We can also hope that the cat hasn't used up over half of her nine lives in the process.