It's 9am and finally time for bed.
Last night, we tried having Cookie sleep in our bed. The previous night, we closed her out of the bedroom and she seemed ok, only she came meowing at the door several times. And before then, she slept with me, but Ashish was displaced to the couch because he was alternately afraid he would crush her or attack his feet in the middle of the night. But last night, we wanted to try having her in the room with us again. And so, with spray bottle full and in hand (just water, to startle her), we settled in for the night.
At first, we were off to a great start. I squirted her a couple times for fooling around with the blankets and our feet, and even shut her out once to tell her "I mean business!" Once she got the idea, we all three snuggled up and got some rest.
Until 4am.
Cookie decided she'd had enough of this Sleeping At Night thing and started to get rowdy. Wanting none of that - and not wishing to lose my hard-working husband to the couch again - I tossed her back out into the cold, cruel world of our condo, along with her condo, this short little fur-covered cylindrical thing that we're trying to make her fall in love with...and eventually sleep in.
We have no idea if Cookie slept last night.
Ashish found her sitting on the stairs when he got up at 7. No meowing from 4 until then, but had she slept? Had she played? We didn't see any sign of mischief or fun downstairs. And her condo, which sat just outside our cruelly closed bedroom door, seemed untouched by kitten paws.
It breaks our little new-kitty-loving hearts to think of her sleeping on those stairs. Or - worse! - staying up all night waiting for us to come out.
We are sleeping now because we didn't sleep last night.
But do I look unhappy???
So now, it's 9:30 (I'm typing on an iPad, so it's taking a while), and she's asleep. On me. Just how I like it. :) And I'm tired, too. 'Cause even though I slept a normal amount (11 to 4 and then 4 to almost 8) in the back of my mind I was wondering about her. And worrying a little bit.
Why have I chosen this path of pet ownership? Life was sure easier when I had a guaranteed good night's sleep, could brush my teeth without fearing teeth in my ankles and wasn't scooping up clay-covered cat poop all day. It would've been so easy to let Animal Control take this little one away with her kitty siblings instead of walking away toting a tortie like a crazed Cat Lady.
It's like we are parents now, me and Ashish. Our world has been rocked by this three-pound, three-month wild animal we now have living in our house. And Why do we do this? I grew up with a house full o' pets, but this is something different this time. Mom and dad aren't here to do the dirty work. WE ARE mom and dad.
I guess it's only the beginning. The beginning of Something Real. What else is there in life, than to love and be loved? Be it beast, or fowl, or human.
So two months into our marriage and we are parents. Mazel tov!
Want to experience your own Cookie Craze? Here are 10 steps to let it rock YOUR world, the way I see it:
1. Identify a small animal of your choosing.
2. Give her* a name.
3. Bring her home.
4. Buy her fun/useful/necessary things. Spend way more money than you planned.
5. Find her a good doctor and have her checked out. Spend way more money than you planned.
6. Feed her. Regularly.
7. Clean up after her. Consistently.
8. Play with her. A lot. More than you think you want to.
9. Discipline her enough so that you can enjoy having her around.
10. (This is the big payoff) Snuggle her and love her and write about her and talk about her and take pictures of her and sleep with her and keep her forever and ever. <3
*or him. I had to pick a gender because using "it" just didn't seem right.
What about you? Has Cookie Craze (or it's equivalent) rocked your world? What are the joys...and the challenges? And if it hasn't yet, what's keeping you from it, or what do you look forward to? I'd love to hear from you! Let's share stories!
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