Inquiry Italia | Main | Still Buried, Weekend in Brief
November 30, 2007
TGIF [Thank Goodness Irving's Fine?]
Note: This is an old photo. How to tell? Irving still has all of his stomach, armpit and butt fur.
Yeesh. This week really got away from me. I ran out of steam on Monday and these remaining four days have involved some amazing feats of determination. This morning I flipped the calendar to December (yes, I know, one day early- Alexis can't stand it when I do this, however I always feel the need to see what is ahead of us) and realized that there is a scant three weeks until our winter vacations, comforting on one end and a bit speedy gonzales on the other. Can we just hit pause for a few moments?
This week can probably be exemplified by the conversation that I had with our vet yesterday. Irving has continued to misbehave and, while we're not quite at our wits end, we are definitely edging toward it, all to frequently blurting the phrases, "Cat, what is your problem? How much stress could you possibly have in your heated, soft, well-fed feline world?" Still, Irving continues to play the part of Mr. McNeed-Need, seeming only to relax when he has the opportunity to crawl into the small space between my chin and chest (bascially, snuggling into my neck), which is all great and cute except for the fact that he is a fifteen pound cat, not an 8" long kitten.
The vet and I talked for several minutes about how to deal with some of his issues, whereupon I asked if she had any idea of why Irving has been acting out. She said that there wasn't much rhyme or reason to cats with behavioral problems, but that usually the root was some sort of kittenhood trauma. "Perhaps he was taken away from his mother too soon," she suggested, "or it is likely that his mother rejected him when he was very young."
Now I take both mental health and my cats very seriously, but that statement pushed me over the edge. I fought the giggles for about an hour afterward, but not because I thought that the vet was ridiculous. Quite the contrary, I am sure it is very, very on target. Now I just need to find a psychoanalyst for Irving to work out his birth mother issues with. At least now I understand his need for neck nuzzling.
Posted by callalillie at November 30, 2007 6:56 AM | Feline Musings
We have been having problems with Pete, too. Maybe they have the holiday blues, or maybe they are just assholes.
Posted by: Sally at November 30, 2007 9:48 AM
At least Pete has an excuse- his position as baby cat is about to be usurped by a cute, screaming little human.
I still think Pete and Olive need to date.
Posted by: corie at November 30, 2007 10:00 AM
What a great photo - we've got one of those bananas, too.
Poor Irving. And poor you guys. I can only imagine how stressful and frustrating this must be.
Posted by: jenblossom at November 30, 2007 10:19 AM
isn't it interesting how Freud seems to have been totally discounted in human psychological circles, but when it comes to cats, EVERYTHING gets explained by some kind of kitten/momma trauma? is it cuz they do that 'makin' biscuits' thing?
can cats have S.A.D.?
Posted by: ChrisG at November 30, 2007 12:57 PM
hey - quick only-somewhat-related question - do you guys have pet insurance? which company? have you found it worthwhile? having just paid a $1000 emergency vet bill for Valentine, I'm considering the possibility... but I've heard mixed reviews.
Posted by: kelly at December 2, 2007 2:42 PM
Nope, we don't have pet insurance. We've never really looked into it, but something tells me insuring 4 cats will be very expensive. Of course, they will probably all get sick at once, but I guess we're kind of taking that financial risk right now.
Hope Valentine is feeling better.
Posted by: corie at December 2, 2007 2:54 PM
