Animals are people too.

Yeah, okay, I know they're not REALLY people, but I am convinced that they feel some of the same feelings that people feel. They feel fear, concern, nervousness, worry, happiness, joy and probably a lot more.

I read this hilarious post this morning about two dogs and how they dealt with moving. Read it here. It's long, but seriously worth reading. It portrays the feelings these animals had VERY well (and I was crying from laughing so hard).

The post made me think about our cats (aka. our first babies aka. the boys). Our cats, truly have unique personalities.
At the farm - they day we took him home.
Our first cat, Leo, was rescued from my husbands's Aunt and Uncle's farm. He was the runt of the litter, and his mother had stopped feeding him, probably because she figured he wouldn't survive. So, when he was only a couple weeks old, we took him home. He was so teeny and sweet and hilarious. Unfortunately, being separated from his mother so early caused some psychological issues. I'm serious. The poor thing had separation anxiety - he'd cry at the door every time we left, he'd cry when we got home until we cuddled him for a few minutes. So, a couple months later, we decided to get another cat to keep Leo company.
Clive
Enter Clive. Clive is a completely different cat. We bought him at the pet store. He's a domestic cat, through and through. He's pretty dumb, but that means he doesn't cause trouble, and he's happy all the time (unlike Leo who is TOO smart, and is CONSTANTLY causing trouble and mayhem). He was the perfect companion for Leo. He doesn't need Leo's company, but he doesn't mind that Leo needs his. The two cats now live happily ever after. They chase each other, lick each other, sleep together, ignore each other, play together, watch each other play...they are brothers from different mothers.
"I love you, Clive." "I love you, too, Leo."


Before we had our real baby, they were our babies. Leo chose my husband as his favourite, and Clive chose me. We were a happy family.

Enter, REAL baby.

I was really nervous about how our cats would deal with a baby. Some cats don't handle it well. We had Will's crib full of balloons for months before he was born. Apparently cats hate balloons, so that would train them to stay away. It seemed to work because they have never gone in the crib, which was a relief. Actually, the cats stayed away from Will completely. They were TERRIFIED of him. Every time he'd move or make a noise, they would run away.

Other than that, they were pretty good. They didn't pee anywhere they shouldn't...they didn't destroy anything unusual.

However, it didn't take long and they started to drive me CRAZY!!! You see, as any cat owner knows, cats like a schedule, and they get very concerned about anything food related. The cats were still getting fed twice a day, as usual, but it wasn't always at the same time. Also, many times when they thought it MUST be time for me to feed them, I would be busy with the baby. And THAT is when the trouble-making began. If they weren't SCREAMING at me, they were breaking into any food they could find in the house, or scratching furniture just to get attention. Mostly it was the relentless, loud, totally obnoxious screaming that made me want to kill them.

I was distressed. My cats who I formally loved so much, suddenly became the subject of many dark thoughts and daydreams. Suddenly they were not my babies. They weren't even my friends. They were just annoying rodents who NEEDED TO DIE!!!

Then one day, my friend told me about this automatic cat feeder that she bought. It dispenses a certain amount of food at certain times of the day. I had no idea such things were made, but it was EXACTLY what we needed.

Read more > http://highheelhippiemommy.blogspot.com/2010/12/pets-and-new-babies...