Animal Kingdom

Are you ready for a pet? When you're in the market for a pet, everyone is quick to remind you of the many responsibilities involved. For instance, If you are considering a boy for a pet, they are these pesky animals that require things like affection, time, and food. Cats have this "need" to like, eat, and drink, and have a litter box. *sigh*. On the other hand, why is it that no one tells of you the other very real challenges you'll encounter while taking care of said boy and cat?

With the boy - beware the hockey fan. This article in the Globe and Mail sums up the 'hockey widow' phenoma quite nicely. Since October 1st, I am a widow - I'm not even married! *sigh*. Did you know that there are 82 games in a season - before playoffs? Considering it takes 2 - 3 hours a game...that's a lot of time in front of the tv ignoring me. Indeed, I was abandoned this weekend while the pet is off watching a hockey game in Buffalo.

However, the cat, is a whole different story. No one ever warned me about the technological challenges of raising a cat. Consider the following evidence:

Trust me, it is difficult to type with a cat on your keyboard. If that wasn't enough though, the cat also mastered the "Dark Screen Effect". When she was a kitten, she managed to know exactly where to sit on the keyboard such that her hind foot was situated on the power button - making my screen go dark. One the laptop is off, she knows she'll get attention. Lucky for me, I got a new laptop at Christmas, and the cat hasn't found the new power button location :)

How about the DVD/Wii/TV? In the last year, the cat has successfully managed to turn each of those off - either with the remote, or by pressing the power button on the device itself. There was one instance in particular where we were absorbed in a game of Super Smash Bros...only to have the screen go dark. We all look down, to see the cat's paw on the power button of the Wii, glaring at us with her green eyes.

Next...how many people have I chatted with on MSN who were victims of "wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333339999999999999999999999999999999999oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"Or some other random variation of letters, numbers and symbols? It's amazing how good she is at pressing "Enter" afterwards as well! It's amazing how many times I open up a document and see a random collection of letters hidden somewhere for the proofreader.

And finally, now that I'm back in school, I'm encountering the challenges of doing paper homework around the feline. I put down my clipboard and notes for a moment, and come back to this:

She then proceeds to play with a loose sheet of paper underneath it....and then crumpling and ripping it. It's a good thing I didn't need that sheet...especially since I wanted to grab a picture or two.

Now, do you think you're ready for the challenges of a pet? Think long and carefully about it...and beware the monster in the sink!