Not cute at 5am

This morning was a rough morning with the cats. I know I'll probably get a "you asked for it" from a few friends and family members, but oh well. Sticker, my adult cat, has had a rough adjustment to the new kitten. From comparable reports, though, I think she's doing well with adjusting to the kitten. In only a week she's accomplished: staying in the same room in which the kitten occupies, letting me pet her with said kitten's smell on my hands, then progressing to being on the same couch the kitten is sitting on for more than a couple of minutes, being able to eat while kitten is in the nearby area, and finally, surviving a kitty-zooms episode which included a flyby pounce on her rump by the kitten on his way under the couch.

So, all things considered I think Sticker is doing pretty well. I've noticed slight personality changes this week in her though and I'm lamenting my normal-Sticker-personality which lays dormant under her kitten-tormented-personality right now. At first Sticker shunned us all in her obvious distaste for the foreign and unwelcome kitten we brought into our house. But now, Sticker has become rather velcro-like. She follows me room to room and meows for me to pet her. Last night it evolved into Sticker persistently trying to push our bedroom door open to climb into bed with us. She has never slept with us. Ever. Nor will she ever. And she knows this. So why now?? Falling asleep last night I noticed she pushed our door open so I figured what the heck, "I'll lock it, not that it will matter." Low and behold, at 4:30am I am woken to sounds of Sticker pushing her shoulder repeatedly into our door trying to force it open. I fell back asleep amazed that she cared enough to still want to come in. 5:00am comes around and she again is pushing on our door. This made me mad, so I got my water squirt bottle and promptly open the door quickly and sprayed her in the face with an emphatic "No!" Satisfied that "I got her now" I climb back into bed. Not 10 minutes later she is back at the door, pushing. This infuriated me. Not only is she disobeying me, I am wide awake at 5:00 in the morning when it is quickly approaching wake up time and I won't have enough time to get back to sleep before I wake up, but it's way to freakin' early for me to actually get up. I'm mad. I get up, yank the door open and spray that cat with more water. She prances away from me with that look of "You just watch, I'm gonna do it again." Seeing red, I march over and pick her up and all but "boot to cat" kick her outside in the 32 degree cold. I don't even care at this point. I stomp back into the bedroom and try to make it back to sleep before my alarm beeps.

7am rolls around. Still angry about Sticker, I go through my morning routine. Fix hair, wash face, then wander into kitchen to start the coffee. Blake is still asleep through this. I endure the kitten yowls from the laundry room as I open the door for Sticker to come in and eat her breakfast. She's acting fine and I set out her food and complete my coffee setup. I let the kitten, Doogan, out when my coffee is finally percolating. I glance at the clock and realize I need to get it in gear, but first have to dish out Doogan's meal serving. Sticker has noticed by this point that Doogan gets different food than she does - the good-smelling kitten kind, I guess. I dish out half a day's serving to Doogan which he bolts in 2 minutes and haplessly left his second half out on the kitchen counter. On which Sticker is not allowed. And she knows this. I'm tearing back into the bedroom trying to pick out what to wear and slap on makeup and grumbling that I should have gotten up earlier to take care of the stupid cats so I won't be late, and chasing Doogan away from the couches and squirting him off the kitchen table, when all of a sudden from my bathroom I hear a big thud and rattle-rattle. Sticker has knocked the kitten food off the counter and is hastily seeing how much she can gorge before I come get her. I'd had it. I roughly grabbed her and started to shove her outside when I hear her subtly hiss at me. By this time Blake is lying in bed trying to get his last moments of sleep before kitty-patrol switches to his watch. I ignore Sticker and start scrambling to try to get the last of my stuff together: coat, scarf, shoes, lunchbox, coffee cup... and I enter the laundry room which Doogan is kept in to be able to go into the garage. Doogan usually never tries to bolt past me into the garage when I'm leaving for work, but of course this morning he does. I know if I try to chase the little booger he will be dancing under the cars away from me until doomsday. So I put all my stuff in my car and tromp back inside to get his little dingle-ball. So here I am, in tears, rolling a little dingle ball on the garage floor calling "Here, Doogan" when Blake peeks through the laundry room to see what all the commotion is...and to see why I haven't left for work yet. Frustrated and teary, I grab Doogan (who by that time had been helplessly lured to capture by the dingle ball) and hand him straight out to Blake: "HERE", who wordlessly and a little frightened, takes him from my outstretched and tense arms. I get my coffee and tear off to work (safely though, Mom, I promise.)

So for all of you who in your heads laughed and sniggered when you found out we got a kitten, anticipating much mayhem and loss of sanity - this story is for you. I'll let you know if I, and the cat and kitten, all survive each other tonight. The Sheriff is back in town and those kitties are going to be subdued with a smackdown.