The Boy and the Agnes

Since I have told you all of the unrequited love betwixt the Boy and the Leike, I thought it only fair to also tell you of his relationship with the Agnes.

Say what you might about Leike, she's a very smart animal. When the Boy is too close and she's feeling nervous, she gets up and MOVES. She heads for high ground, she tunnels under furniture, she gets out of Dodge.

Agnes. Much as I love that cat, she's not the brightest. Or maybe she is. I'm starting to think she's TAUNTING him. Which is going to be problematic for her.

See, Agnes loves to be around us. The adults in Burnstopia, we are her favorites. She claims territorial privileges over our laps. If you sit still long enough in our apartment she will make herself at home. She's having a hard time with the Boy. First we brought him home and he was on top of us all the time--in her SPOT. Then he started to MOVE. Then he started to CHASE her, and now he's all up in her grill and she wants to stand her ground (after all she was here FIRST) but she doesn't quite realize that in the world of Burnstopia, Boy trumps Cat.

So she turns in to Civil Disobedient Cat and will NOT be moved. But reserves the right to get MAD when the Boy gets a little too close, a little too persistent, a little too much. In which times she swipes him. She's gotten him twice now (drawing blood each time. And yes, we wash the wounds obsessively). He cries more because he doesn't understand why she won't play with him than because it hurts. How do I know this? Because he never once touches, pulls at, pats or otherwise references the scratch. I have to go looking for them--and yes, I'm obsessive enough to give him a thorough once over after these infractions.

It's just SAD--he wants to play with her so badly and he just can't understand that she's really NOT interested in that highlighter that he thinks is so wonderful. All he wants is to SHARE with her and yet, she is not at all intrigued.

Look:

Now, look at the look on Agnes' face:

Do you see that? That smug edge that says, I like him not at all, but I will NOT be moved. And then look at HIS face! That plaintive, please-won't-you-come-out-and-play-with-me FACE. It KILLS me, y'all.

I'm still debating what to do about Agnes and the swiping of my child. On the one hand, he needs to learn that all living things need space, he needs to learn to be cautious around animals and to respect them. On the other hand, Agnes can get off her duff and MOVE if he's bothering her. She doesn't have to SWIPE him. I generally keep their claws clipped down, but she had 1 (one) long one and that's the one that got him. Needless to say, I clipped down all of their claws tonight after the Boy was in bed.