Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Heads or Tails - Pets

Barb at Skittle's Place has started a weekly meme. Every Tuesday, she calls Heads or Tails, and we get to play along. HEADS this week is Pet(s)

Besides fish, which you can't actually pet, we've had three pets since Jeffrey and I have been married. A cat named Theo. He was pretty, but not a very loving cat. A dog named Nikki. She was half chocolate lab and half dalmatian. I liked her best when she lived outside and before she barked so much the neighbors called the police. It still bugs me that they couldn't just come over and say something like, "Did you realize your dog is barking and it's really bothering me?" No, they had to call the police. Theo, Nikki, and the fish are all long gone, and I never wanted another animal. I'm just not an animal person. The irritations and the negatives always seem to outweigh the positives when it comes to having pets. I think I could put up with some irritations, if only there were some positives to make it all worthwhile. With Theo - he started peeing on the floor and other things because we moved and his whole life changed. At our house in Illinois, he mostly lived outside because we got tired of trying to make him stay inside. When we moved to the apartment we had while we were building this house, he had to stay inside all the time, with the dog - and he was not happy about that. No way no how was I going to move him again, this time to a new house with brand new carpet. He wasn't even a loving lap kitty, but I don't think even that would have offset the negatives.

So, we got rid of the cat. We got rid of the dog. The fish died - well, some of them went to live in a horse trough to eat the flies and mosquitoes. We were never, ever going to have an animal in the house again. Then the kids begged and begged for a kitten, and I said yes. What was I thinking? So far Tillie has lived with us for two months. She's sweet and precious and loving. I don't have to take care of the litter box. I'm not supposed to have to clean up after her or feed her. All that is Beth's job. Still, the furniture is getting snagged by kitty claws. Beth has to be told to take care of the litter and to feed the kitten. Sometimes I do feed her, but I refuse to mess with the litter, and the messes that I would like cleaned up now are not taken care of until later. All the little things I knew were going to bug me about having an animal in the house - they're all there. Not so much the cat hair on everything, but that's coming. Is Tillie sweet, furry and purry enough to make up for all that? So far. But I'm still not changing the litter.

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5 comments:

  1. Yep, my original agreement with hubby when we got our first cat was that I was to have no responsibility for taking care of it whatsoever. Not the litter box, not feeding it - he's even supposed to vacuum the floors and furniture. Now, who takes care of the cat (and the friend we had to get for her)? Most of the time - yep, you guessed it! Sigh... Good thing they're cute and the kids love them!

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  2. That picture of Tillie melted my heart. What a sweetie!

    I hope she works her way into your heart and you are able to keep her. Maybe the kids could do extra chores to earn money to have her declawed? It's always cheaper before the cat turns 4 (or six) months old.

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  3. That kitten is SO adorable! I know that I couldn't resist it!

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  4. I can relate to the hassles of pets. Cat litter boxes just kind of gross me out.
    Your comment about your husband laughing at you about PayPerPost made me smile. Mine thinks it's all pretty funny too. But hey, it gives me something that's mine, and it gives me a chance to "talk" to other adults during the day. He still grins when I mention my "blog". But he won't be laughing when/if I can ever make a little extra money! LOL

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