Our Pseudo Pet
Jeanie the cat lives next door. She visits us a lot. The girls chase her around, trying to push her down the slide and hold her by her legs. Sometimes she gives them a good scratch but mostly she tolerates a bit of handling.
I don't like cats. One teeny hair of theirs gets anywhere on my body and I sneeze, wheeze, and get swollen itchy throat and eyes for the next half dozen hours. (Other animals are not much better. Even though I owned two dogs as a girl, I am allergic to them too. I used to just deal with it because I loved them, now I don't care to deal anymore.)
My girls, however, are dying for a pet. I feel like such a mean mom for denying their pleading eyes! A cat, a dog, a hamster (RIP Scratchy), anything. Sunshine even asked for a pony once!
For now, to my mind, Jeanie is the perfect pet. She comes around, entertains the girls and lets herself be petted and then leaves. No food, no responsibility, no vet trips (though she does treat our yard like a litter box).
Today, the girls fed the cat a bowl of milk outside our back door right before nap. Now I think she might be trying to adopt us, as she is meowing and crying outside the back door and then trying the front door. The girls are thrilled, and (despite the wheezing that's resulted for me) I am glad for a little pet-love for them.
I don't like cats. One teeny hair of theirs gets anywhere on my body and I sneeze, wheeze, and get swollen itchy throat and eyes for the next half dozen hours. (Other animals are not much better. Even though I owned two dogs as a girl, I am allergic to them too. I used to just deal with it because I loved them, now I don't care to deal anymore.)
My girls, however, are dying for a pet. I feel like such a mean mom for denying their pleading eyes! A cat, a dog, a hamster (RIP Scratchy), anything. Sunshine even asked for a pony once!
For now, to my mind, Jeanie is the perfect pet. She comes around, entertains the girls and lets herself be petted and then leaves. No food, no responsibility, no vet trips (though she does treat our yard like a litter box).
Today, the girls fed the cat a bowl of milk outside our back door right before nap. Now I think she might be trying to adopt us, as she is meowing and crying outside the back door and then trying the front door. The girls are thrilled, and (despite the wheezing that's resulted for me) I am glad for a little pet-love for them.
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