Three Cats and a Baby
Every family has something unique that they can call their own. A situation that to others defies logic and is perceived as unimaginable. Most people who witness these inside traits of family uniqueness, never mention a word. In polite society it is "hush hush" until you get back to your family or friends where you can explain these most unusual situations, and a hearty laugh is bellowed out. This is how families bond and measure their own greatness and superiority over the rest (or to a lesser, less pessimistic extent, it could be said that this is the yardstick by how you define your own individuality).
In some cases, the parties involved already know and have long ago accepted the absurdity of their own situation. After some time this absurdity becomes normality and it takes some reflection to regain the perspective and nature of these abnormalities (if that reflection is ever taken). For others, the absurdity of the situation has always been obvious, and will forever remain.
About a year before Adam was born, the family came upon a nest of cats (one mom and four kittens) living in the words outside of their cliché two-bedroom apartment. The ferile mother cat had made the thick briar her home since the neighbors took it upon themselves to feed every wild animal that wandered past their door (and feed them in abundance). Pounds upon pounds of birdseed and large sacks of dried corn-cobs have produced an unhealthy balance of wild critters residing in the very nearby woods.
And so too did the neighbors see the mother cat and begin feeding it however ferile it was, with no attempt to catch it. It did not take long for the mamma cat to have a litter. Seeing this situation arise, Adam's mother and father decided to make it their goal to catch all of the cats and have them treated in the appropriate manner.
Being a true cat lover, Mom, a truly good hearted individual (unusually so by the narrator's yardstick), was committed to the task of catching the cats. Dad, loving cats as well, had become deathly allergic to them over the years of having cats at home. His desire while well meaning, was merely to give comfort to Mom who's concern grew day by day.
After a great deal of trial and error, three of the kittens were caught. The fourth kitten would elude capture. These were no ordinary kittens however, these kittens came from a mother whose own paranoia is unmatched in the animal kingdom (and any other kingdom for that matter). In the short time that the cats were a family, mother had done well to impart this paranoia on to her kittens. But, fishy cat food was no match for mother's paranoia and one by one they were caught (except for the last of course). Still to this day, the fourth kitten in is seen stalking the shadows only to be a dark black blur darting away into nothingness. This was a cat that didn't want to get caught.
And so it was that fateful couple of days, that three kittens made it into the lives of Adam's parents. The "idea" was to try and rehabilitate the cats back to a point where they could be adopted (all for one that is). The one cat, later named "Furry" was an unusually beautiful and as you might expect, fluffy and furry cat. It was the mother's pick of the litter (and dad's too, had he REALLY wanted one of the cats).
Months past and there seemed no improvement in the cats. Their paranoid instincts had not subsided, except for Furry. He too exhibited the traits he was brought up with, but to a much lesser and tolerable extent. The other two, there was no change. However, Adam's mother, who fed them daily, had grown very attached to the cats and the cats grew attached to her, and only her. Dad, on the other hand, who is deathly allergic to the cat's made no real push to gain favor with them.
And so it was, a small apparent with three cats who were afraid of everything became permanent residents of the small two bedroom apartment. The father now relinquished to spending time in only the two places in the house the cat's were not allowed, the master bedroom, and the second bedroom (the office from which he works from).
With the arrival of Adam, the problem became amplified. Two adults, a baby, and three cats in a 900 square foot apartment, where the dad could not spend any lengthy time in the majority of the house, would grow to be a contentious issue. The absurdity of the situation became clear to both the father and the mother; where are we going to move?
In some cases, the parties involved already know and have long ago accepted the absurdity of their own situation. After some time this absurdity becomes normality and it takes some reflection to regain the perspective and nature of these abnormalities (if that reflection is ever taken). For others, the absurdity of the situation has always been obvious, and will forever remain.
About a year before Adam was born, the family came upon a nest of cats (one mom and four kittens) living in the words outside of their cliché two-bedroom apartment. The ferile mother cat had made the thick briar her home since the neighbors took it upon themselves to feed every wild animal that wandered past their door (and feed them in abundance). Pounds upon pounds of birdseed and large sacks of dried corn-cobs have produced an unhealthy balance of wild critters residing in the very nearby woods.
And so too did the neighbors see the mother cat and begin feeding it however ferile it was, with no attempt to catch it. It did not take long for the mamma cat to have a litter. Seeing this situation arise, Adam's mother and father decided to make it their goal to catch all of the cats and have them treated in the appropriate manner.
Being a true cat lover, Mom, a truly good hearted individual (unusually so by the narrator's yardstick), was committed to the task of catching the cats. Dad, loving cats as well, had become deathly allergic to them over the years of having cats at home. His desire while well meaning, was merely to give comfort to Mom who's concern grew day by day.
After a great deal of trial and error, three of the kittens were caught. The fourth kitten would elude capture. These were no ordinary kittens however, these kittens came from a mother whose own paranoia is unmatched in the animal kingdom (and any other kingdom for that matter). In the short time that the cats were a family, mother had done well to impart this paranoia on to her kittens. But, fishy cat food was no match for mother's paranoia and one by one they were caught (except for the last of course). Still to this day, the fourth kitten in is seen stalking the shadows only to be a dark black blur darting away into nothingness. This was a cat that didn't want to get caught.
And so it was that fateful couple of days, that three kittens made it into the lives of Adam's parents. The "idea" was to try and rehabilitate the cats back to a point where they could be adopted (all for one that is). The one cat, later named "Furry" was an unusually beautiful and as you might expect, fluffy and furry cat. It was the mother's pick of the litter (and dad's too, had he REALLY wanted one of the cats).
Months past and there seemed no improvement in the cats. Their paranoid instincts had not subsided, except for Furry. He too exhibited the traits he was brought up with, but to a much lesser and tolerable extent. The other two, there was no change. However, Adam's mother, who fed them daily, had grown very attached to the cats and the cats grew attached to her, and only her. Dad, on the other hand, who is deathly allergic to the cat's made no real push to gain favor with them.
And so it was, a small apparent with three cats who were afraid of everything became permanent residents of the small two bedroom apartment. The father now relinquished to spending time in only the two places in the house the cat's were not allowed, the master bedroom, and the second bedroom (the office from which he works from).
With the arrival of Adam, the problem became amplified. Two adults, a baby, and three cats in a 900 square foot apartment, where the dad could not spend any lengthy time in the majority of the house, would grow to be a contentious issue. The absurdity of the situation became clear to both the father and the mother; where are we going to move?
posted by JB at 6:04 AM
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