Kitties and Kids

     This weekend we stopped by my Father-In-Law's house.  He has two kitties, Cheddar and Figaro.  They live in the (finished) basement while company is over.  I grew up with cats so I like to visit Cheddar and Figaro whenever I get a chance.  This time I had to cut my visits short though.  It started fine, I walked downstairs and the kitties perked their heads around the corner to say hello.  They pressed their furry heads into my hand to get more pets and pats and scratches.  I walked away and they followed me so I pet them some more. And then Figaro hissed at me. Really hissed.  So I left the basement.
     I don't have a cat now but I do have a Joshua and a Liam.  I think I learned a lot about kids by being owned by a cat.  Growing up with cats, I know that Figaro isn't really a bad kitty or very different from any of the cats I ever had. See, cats are very particular about their humans and I'm just not Figaro's human.  Joshua is like Figaro, he likes to look cute for just about anyone who smiles at him.  He bats his eyelashes at grown ups in grocery stores and goes out of his way to look cute whenever it's convenient for him.  But if a grown up who is not his human tries to pick him up, he'll throw a big fit that isn't at all cute.  And here's the thing with Joshua, he's fairly fickle so you may be his human one day, but not the next (we call this the "Mommy Crush" and the "Daddy Crush").  Liam is a bit more like Cheddar, he's friendly to everyone, follows you around like a stick of glue and, while he doesn't exactly arch his back up to get scratched just below his tail, he does like to wrap every inch of his string bean legs and arms around you for a big hug. 
     Cats like to be where you are.  And so if you are reading a book, they want to position themselves directly between you and the pages of that book.  If you are playing a board game on the coffee table or, god-forbid, the floor, they will want to sit directly on top of that board game.  I've found that my children are fairly similar. Their favorite toy is the one that the other brother is playing with.  When Liam and I play Candy Land, Joshua has been known to come over and sit on our game board.  This ever-presence s the real reason why- despite the fact that it is summer vacation, I haven't yet opened the sequel to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
   Cats demand your attention at a moment's notice but give you less than a moment's notice when they're ready to be independent.  They expect immediate withdrawl five seconds before they told you to stop petting them.  How many kitties have I known to purr graciously at me and then spaz out with their claws batting me away?  Liam and Joshua are a little bit like that.  They can come up to me for a hug but can I go asking for it?  Probably not.  Joshua will come up to me and lay his head on my lap but can I go asking for a kiss?  Nope.
     The most fun thing about having a kitty or a kid is their curiosity.  Bouncy balls never get old.  We can't keep household string in our everything drawer because Liam has been known to unwind and entangle with any string left in the house.  There's nothing quite so exciting to a kitty or a kid as a person coming to the door. Their faces light up when you walk in the door, they shout out your name (or meow) and immediately start acting irresistibly cute.
     Yes, cats can be stinky and so can children. Cats can scratch up your furniture with their claws and kids can (and probably will) scratch your new dining room table with a fork.  Cats can hiss at your friends and kids will throw temper tantrums during your dinner parties. Cats can hiss at your guests and kids will refuse to smile for pictures.  Cats and children both leave their toys strewn around the room.  Cats and children both expect the world to revolve around them, on their schedules and according to their whims.  But when they cuddle up close to you on the couch and look up at you with affection and love, they do just make you melt, don't they?