Recently Princess has been asking for a cat. “Are you going to take care of it?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied. Now you know how the story goes. You get the cat, and the parents are the ones who end up taking care of it.
Images started popping up in my head of me cleaning out kitty litter. The thought alone freaks me out. There’s absolutely no way I could take care of two kids, work, and go to school. I’d lose my mind. However, I decided to give it some thought after my neighbor came over with a katydid.
“I got this for Princess,” she said.
Talk about perfect timing! Since getting a cat is out of the question, this insect would be a perfect way to put this pet idea to the test. Now mind you, I suck at taking care of anything – other than my family of course. I’ve had plants that died because I forgot to water them. I’ve also had goldfish that didn’t see the light of day after a couple weeks. So having a katydid would be an alternative. If Princess does well with this, we may just get a cat.
I don’t know anything about katydids. After some research, I learned that they’re also called bush crickets and long-horned grasshoppers. They eat things like leaves, flowers, and seeds. I figured that having one around the house should be pretty easy. It’s not like we have to take it for a walk or even take it to the vet. My hubby, on the other hand, wasn’t too excited about our guest.
With every chirp he’d shoot me an evil glare, as if I was the one who went out to purchase the darn thing.
“Can we get rid of that thing?” he asked.
“Absolutely not,” I answered.
Princess’s encounter with the tiny green insect was met with curiosity. “What is it?” she asked. Her inquiring mind rambled off a bunch of questions on how to care for her new friend. Judging by her reaction, its obvious she wanted to keep it.
She enjoyed feeding it leaves before bed – making sure the nocturnal creature had enough food to last through the night.
But sadly, her new friend only survived two days. I’m not sure how it died. However, it does confirm one thing – we are certainly not ready to take care of a cat.
Having had a cat once, I think they’re excellent pets for families who don’t have a lot of time to devote to pets. You set out food and scoop the litter box when needed and that’s pretty much it aside from an occasional brushing and trip to the vet. You don’t have to walk them and some cats are not fans of being babied.
When you guys are ready for a pet, I’d recommend trying out a cat before trying out a puppy.
Wow– We got our first puppy at age 12– old enough to wash and walk the dog by ourselves.
use this great excuse… ____ (fill in the blank) is allergic to cats!