No, this isn't about an insect and some guy. Hudson is my cat. The Bug is what we call Muriel and Dig's daughter. So this is about my cat, and their kid.
I was worried about Hudson when I offered to have them move in with us. Some cats don't do well with children. Some cats freak out. He was a shelter rescue, so I had no clue how he would handle a screaming 18 month old. I had no idea how I'd handle it, why should my cat be any different, right?
Well, he was a little freaked out at first. The 'small angry human' invaded his home, took to crying, screaming, wailing and all manner of fits when someone walked out of the room, she didn't get food when she wanted it, she was wet, or just to amuse herself. In short, she was loud a good portion of any given day, and my cat thought the underside of my bed was the safest place in the world. This was not a happy feeling for me, because I didn't want him to be unhappy. I wanted my cat to know this was still his home, his place, and I loved him.
Now, the Bug has seen cats before. She's been around them before. So I figured, Hudson just needed to see a toddler, and be around one to adjust. We took it slow. I'd hold him, and hold him just near enough she could reach out her small hands and pet him. Which she loved. Him... not so much. But as time passed, he came to understand she wasn't going to hit him, smack him, or pull him. Not so long as I was holding him. So he relaxed.
Then we upped things. I put him closer to her. She could now lay her head against his furry body and listen to his purr. This was strange for him, but again he relaxed. Then we put him in her play pen with her. He figured out fairly quickly he could jump out any time he wanted. So it wasn't as if he felt trapped. This was the test, since it was all on his terms. At first, he jumped out when she got too close to him. Eventually, he let her pet him a little, and then left. Before long, he even sat down next to her in the pen and let her pet him.
So, I figured, this was cool. He was adjusting to her, and things were going to be good. Now, like I said, I had no idea how he was going to react to her. And he is still cautious around her. But it didn't take him long to adjust in ways I wasn't expecting.
Hudson sleeps in my bedroom at night. Generally, curled up against me, or across my legs or on the pillow near my head. Where ever he wants, and usually as close as he can get. Imagine my surprize when he suddenly started waking me up in the mornings. He'd never done that. He'd always let me sleep until I woke up. Now, he was pawing at me, and meowing and I just had to get up right then. Come to find out, he was waking me up when she woke up in the morning.
I am not a morning person. I should probably add that now. Morning for me is about 1PM. Morning for the Bug is about 6am.
You can imagine my slight irratation at suddenly being awake morning after morning at 6am. I thought my cat had lost his mind. Or he was paying me back for bringing strangers into the house. No, he was just making sure someone was awake to take care of the 'small angry human' when she woke up every morning.
Cute huh? It gets better.
Because Muriel and Dig smoke, they go outside several times a day to do this. Now, I'm paranoid that Hudson is going to sneak out and get lost. PARANOID. So every so often, I have to stop and look for him. This becomes a matter of minor panic attacks when he decides to go hide under a sofa or the bed and I cannot find him. So, one night Muriel and I get back from the grocery store, and I can't find Hudson. Dig swears he saw him go downstairs. Mind you, this is about 10pm. I should also note the Bug goes to bed about 7 or 8pm. So I'm trying to panic quietly, so as not to wake her.
I looked all over the house. I lifted chairs and sofas. I looked in closets and under beds, in cupboards and under tables. I looked room by room and in and under anything and everything. No Hudson. I was really worried. Dig still swore he'd gone downstairs. We couldn't find him. I called, I got his food cans out. I tapped dishes and plates, and shook dry cat food. I couldn't find him.
On a whim, the only room I hadn't checked was the Bug's. Because she was asleep. But I was worried, so I cracked the door just a bit and sure enough, out comes Hudson. Apparently, he had gone into her room before she went down for the night, and fell asleep. Or we overlooked him. Not sure which. But, the important thing to note here, was he had not cried or scratched when I was looking for him. He'd been a good boy and stayed quiet. Sadly, that only made me worry more, but in the end, the Bug wasn't disturbed, and I found him.
After that we caught him sleeping on the chair in her room more than once and had to shoo him out for her naps and bedtimes. Apparently he's come to like her. From a safe distance.
Now, she's about 20 months old. She's hitting that "terrible twos" stage. She fights meals, fights naps, fights bedtime. It's a headache. Of course, this has Hudson all worked up again. She cries and he gets stressed. He wants to help, he runs to where ever she is and wants to know what's going on. It's touching. I remember when I was a little older than the Bug, I got my first cat, and she acted the same way with me. He's kind of bonded with her. I have a feeling if for some reason they moved out, he'd be sad, and miss her.
I was worried he wouldn't accept her. Now I'm worried he might get too attached. Even as I type this, she's in her play pen playing with blocks and he's on a chair curled up, one eye watching her and the other watching me. He thinks I can't see it.
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