Thursday, March 2, 2017

#SOL17: Why Cats are like Toddlers 2/31


2017 is the tenth year of the Slice of Life Story Challenge hosted by Two Writing Teachers, but it is my first time participating. The goal is to write and post a "slice of life" story every day during the month of March. (I will still be posting book reviews but a little less frequently.)

Many classrooms are also participating in the Classroom Slice of Life Story Challenge. My seventh graders will be joining in a very limited form (writing 10 posts over the 10 class periods we have after March 7th when our previous unit wraps up). We'd love to connect with other middle schoolers via Kidblog (drop me a line at katie at thelogonauts.com to connect).

Slice of Life: why cats are like toddlers



The end of this month marks the one-year anniversary of the adoption of our two kittens from our local Humane Society. Sally is the petite, crazy, calico, and Alexei (né Count Vronsky, whose first name, thank you Google, was Alexei) is the giant, lumbering black lapcat.

As you may have surmised from the title, no, we do not have any toddlers (as I am sure those of you with toddlers and without cats are already shaking your heads), but we do have several toddlers in our near association, including my charming one-month past two-years old nephew.

And so, with the context set, I lay out my points for why cats are like toddlers ...

  • Both scream when they are hungry. (Sally, in particular, has a near-frantic yowl that only rises in pitch if you dare to approach the kitchen around mealtime without getting her food ready.)
  • Both are extremely demanding when they want your attention. (Alexei is the neediest of lapcats I have ever met. If you dare to walk around the house for more than a few minutes without sitting, he will follow you with a plaintive mew that only increases in pathetic-ness in relationship to his overweight size. He has also been known to get in your lap while you are on the computer and to headbutt your arm until you move it to him from the keyboard - which, not coincidentally, might be how I have just been typing these last sentences ... )
  • Both can be wary of new people. (Several members of our families do not believe that Sally actually exists. She is so new-person phobic that she even runs and hides from the doorbell.)
  • Both are characterized by spurts of manic energy followed by a complete and total collapse, often involving awkward sleeping positions or locations. (Sally, in particular, seems to have perfected the forcing-yourself-awake stare of a toddler past naptime - complete with head bobbing - until she finally succumbs.)
  • Both leave their toys everywhere. (Enough said.)
  • Both prevent full nights of sleep. (It turns out that both our cats have decided they want to sleep on the bed with us at night, and two humans plus two cats makes for a very full bed!)
  • Both are endless sources of love and amusement.

12 comments:

  1. A post about cats! WITH A PHOTO! What a delight. I am a very committed cat person--maybe veering into crazy cat lady status. We have 7 indoor cats (but a large house, so it's rare to see all 7 at once). Your two are gorgeous. I liked the structure of this piece with the bullet point comparisons. You've entirely convinced me! Though I will always prefer cats to toddlers!

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    1. Thanks Elisabeth! It's been so exciting to finally live in a place where we can have cats. I expect they will appear more than once this month ...

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  2. Love the part about 'manic energy'. I've had both, feline and human toddlers, and your case for similarities is so right. fun post!

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  3. This is a hilarious comparison! I would have to agree 100%.

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  4. I am soooo not a cat person, but had to read this! I think they need a time out.

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    1. I would imagine that a timeout would also "work" about as well for a cat as for a toddler ...

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  5. I don't spend much time around toddlers, but I have had several cats, including a Siamese cat who survived 20 years. Yes, cat's are independent and hard to control, which is why I love the "Herding Cats" commercial and have often shared it w/ my students (teens) and others. Here you go: https://youtu.be/Pk7yqlTMvp8

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    1. Yes! One of my all-time favorite Super Bowl commercials.

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  6. spot on for #Caturday sharing ~ I'd add that cats are more likely to stay toddlers than toddlers themselves

    keep drawers, purses, closets shut -- laptop too when you leave the room.

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    1. Spot on! We recently came home to entirely unrolled toilet paper tube ...

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