Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7



Thursday, April 18, 2013

symbiosis


Like many relationships, this one started out pretty rocky. But it seems to have become at least tolerant and maybe it will turn into friendly.





Maggie's only experience with four-legged creatures other than other dogs has been to chase them up a tree. Raccoons, squirrels, and cats making the bad choice to visit our backyard all got chased up a tree. Her first two days with Ava were spent pursuing that same goal, except I think the curtains would have been where the kitty climbed.

Today, Maggie seemed to resolve herself to the fact that the kitty isn't visiting; she's staying. She woke up this morning and ate her breakfast with the kitty lying under the table. Maggie didn't bark, whine or growl. She ate her breakfast, and other than occasionally trying to get a sniff in, has ignored the kitty.

So, I guess the kitty is staying. Until today it was "a trial" and I mean that in more ways than one. The dog has been leashed and attached to me since Tuesday afternoon. She's a 75-pound dog, so when she pulls, I have to pull back and my back is telling me I've been tugging on a 75-pound dog (weighing much more than that when pulling on her leash) for almost 48 hours.

She was "Avery" when we picked her up, and I thought she'd be "Vivian," but "Ava" was easier and I think it fits, not that it matters if it fits. She's a cat, not a baby. (Christine, I hope you'll forgive me.)

And speaking of cats and babies, I have to get this off my chest.

Pet Parents

I hate that term. Really. Ok, intensely dislike.

Have you heard it? I hear it on a pet retailer advertisement. Pet parents and grandparents.

Parent (noun): one that begets or brings forth offspring; a person who brings up and cares for another (person)

I can not parent a cat or a dog because I am human. I parent people. 

This culture of "pet parents" makes me crazy. Advertising agencies have figured out that we, and I exclude myself from that "we," think pets are our babies. That's what's wrong with our culture. We parent dogs and cats and abort babies. I could really go on about this subject but I think that one sentence is enough.





I'm a cat, and my mom is a cat, not a human. My owner is a human.







10 comments:

  1. We parent dogs and cats and abort babies - best line ever!

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  2. I really like the name Ava--I think it fits her.
    Totally agree on pet parents! A pet is a pet, not a child.

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  3. It doesnt bother me...you can do what you want..it IS your kitty-cat.

    She is a pretty one I might add.

    We had a cat name Lily because we got her during the Lillhaumer, Norway olympics....then my neighbor named her little girl Lily and I thought that was weird because that was my cats name!

    Our kitties are named Mona Lisa and Suzie ca-Boozie.

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  4. I don't know if you were meaning to be funny, but I laughed. A lot. Outloud.

    I also don't like this saying. It's all a part of the devil to trick us, right? All part of his scheme to trick us into thinking human life is less than animal life.

    Happy for you though, well, mostly for Faith!! :)

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  5. Congrats on the cat Barbara! She is very cute - she looks just like our tabby cat Lucy.

    Have fun!
    ~Angela

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  6. I couldn't agree with you more about the pet parent thing. It makes me so sad to hear people call their pets their babies. They aren't, and that's that.

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  7. Oh man, the pet parent thing drives me nuts. And it makes me even nuttier when people who have human children use the term. You love and parent your cat the same way you do your daughter or son? Pfft. I have a friend whose children won't have children, so she has "grand dogs" That's sad.

    All that being said, the kitty is a cutie. :)

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  8. Cute kitty cat. I have had allergic reactions to cats in the past so none will ever live with me. A couple weeks ago in New Orleans, a pathetic woman dropped two puppies off a hotel balconey. One died at the scene, the other died at an animal hospital. That woman got all kinds of media coveage...unlike the Gosnell trial...just saying.

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  9. Ava is a cute kitty; she looks like our Sugar, who was a wonderful cat. I agree with your comments on the "pet parent" thing. We have all these movie stars on heart-wrenching appeals to "save the helpless animals, who...". When did an animal become a "who" instead of a "what"? Answer: when an unborn baby became an "it", a "fetus", a "blob of tissue", a "product of conception", a "parasite invading a woman's body", a "choice". --- Rosemary

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  10. I know this is an older post, but I kept meaning to leave a comment. I agree with everything you say about pets! Did you see that interview with then Cardinal Bergoglio on EWTN? He was talking about materialism in society and gave the examples of pets and cosmetology. It's a great interview.

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I appreciate your comments -- sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself!