Cats

Cats induce a great deal of itching and wheezing and inability to breathe due to snot for me, so we don't have cats.  Therefore, Silas has never been around cats.  We have two dogs, so I figured if he ever ran into a cat, he'd react in pretty much the same way.  I was wrong.

Randi has a kitten.  We decided to have dinner and let the kids play last night.  So, I took a Claritan, and we loaded up and went to Randi's. 

We hadn't been there fifteen minutes when Silas came stumbling up to me crying so hard I had to blow in his face to make him breathe again.  I inspected him for claw marks, bumps, bruises - any sign of injury.  There was none.  So, I calmed him down and he sat in my lap.

Slowly, as the night wore on, I began to realize he was terrified of the kitten.  It's a kitten, so it's playful and has kind of sharp claws.  So, it would zip around and run past Silas, and he would have a full-on, panic attack, melt down and climb up me and wrap himself around my neck, and I'd have to pat his back and speak in soothing tones and kiss his little cheeks (ok - he probably preferred me not to kiss his cheeks, but I can't help it) until he returned to normal.

I think I lost some of my mommy credibility with him on this issue because I kept trying to tell him, "it's just a cat, it won't hurt you," and then it would run at him full speed and act like it was going to jump at him and claw his face off (but really it just wanted to play) and he would melt down all over again and give me a look like, "you're a liar and that thing wants to kill me."

Hopefully he'll never overcome this fear.  I know that's mean, but I am way too lazy to take a pill every day because my kid begs me for a cat, but it's nearly impossible for me to tell him he can't have something.  

Silas: "Cracker? Please. O-kay!"  or "Outside? Please. O-kay!" or "Toy?  Please. O-kay!"  You see where this is going?  

If he liked cats, we might one day have a conversation like this: "Cat?  Please. O-kay!" and then I'd have to buy him a cat and take pills and I'd inevitably forget to take my pills and Silas would be all, "it's just a cat, it won't hurt you" and I'd be all, "you're a liar and that thing wants to kill me," and he'd probably just feel vindicated instead of patting my back and speaking to me in soothing tones.