In a twist of fate which makes my eyes roll from the sheer insanity of it all, my son is mildly allergic to cats and my cat is mildly allergic to … something. We don’t know what. All we know is that an allergy shot every couple of months keeps the cat cough-free while decent housekeeping and an occasional dose of Benadryl keeps the boy itch-free. This seems a small price to pay for the company of furry friends. And a son.
At least it seems like a small price to pay most of the time; days like today, however, make me question the wisdom of raising both boy and kitty. We’d made it long enough between allergy shots that I dared to dream the cat had outgrown his allergy, but early one evening the cough came back. I resolved to get him into the vet the following morning as soon as we dropped the eldest child at school. As usual, I laid out my expectations to the little ones as we arrived at the vet’s office: Sit still on the bench. Don’t touch the other pets. Watch quietly while the vet checks out kitty. Hold mommy’s hand in the parking lot when we leave.
They nodded in solemn agreement but the second we walked through the door the boy lost his head. In the very few minutes it took us to get through the office (nearly deserted, I was thankful to find, on a Thursday morning) he managed to rip part of a bulletin board, kick his heels against noisy cabinets, remove dog toys from a display, rummage around in drawers full of syringes, run headlong into a door, repeatedly turn off the office lights and bedevil an already cross poodle.
Finally I sat him screeching and petulant on the counter while I attempted to pay the bill. A woman waiting to buy a bag of kibble began speaking quietly to him, asking questions about his pet and sister sitting patiently on a bench. He was happy to talk to someone else; her calm demeanor and interest gave me just enough time to swipe my credit card, flash her a grateful smile, and rush everyone out the door.
I’m thankful for that sweet angel’s distraction in the vet’s office. Not that it lasted. As I herded him into the car he swatted at me in frustration. At home he retreated shrieking to his bedroom where he managed to slam the door a half-dozen times before I put a stop to it. It took a full morning of peevishness and a long afternoon nap before his three-year-old passions returned to a somewhat more socially acceptable level.
“Did you consider that you’d put the wrong creature in the cat carrier?” asked my main squeeze when I recounted the tale to him, and suddenly the future became perfectly clear. Next time the kitty starts coughing I will carry him in arms while my son rides in the cat’s former home. That should clear up all our issues.
I think everyone in the vet’s office, including the sweet angel of distraction, will appreciate this action. Don’t you?
TOO funny. Surely frustrating at the time — but a tale to tell when the boy has grown some! I’m discovering mine like to hear stories about their special younger selves! We have a hoot at the dinner table going over some of these memories.
You could try the method mentioned in today’s strip here:
http://xkcd.com/
Hee!
Here’s the permalink:
http://xkcd.com/573/
Yet another good reason why cats and kids should all belong to someone else.
You are clearly a born mother. I’d have killed the little devil by now, or sold him off like Oliver.
“One boy, boy for sale!”
He shall certainly thank you one day for your patience with him, and the fine character you are imparting to him. He’s a lucky little troll.
I’ve worked retail, and I now work at a pet supply store and trust me, we’ve seen it all. The fact that you even show concern over how your child is acting is all that matters. Too many parents come in and simply let their children run crazy and damage things and do nothing. It’s the parents who worry that their children are being a bother who we are nicer to and we mind less when cleaning up after their children. Trust me on that.
Having grown up with an allergy to cats that was undiagnosed till I was 21…from a personal point of view, I still occasionally have flashes of irritation that I had to be around cats and that they were what was making me sick. I cannot understand why a parent would subject their kid to something their body is intolerant of when it is an easy fix.
But that is just me…and I was more than mildly allergic.
Dear Immagikman,
Oh, do you mean get rid of valued members of my family? Which would break everyone’s heart? Including my son’s? Even though his doctor specifically told us that things were *not* anywhere near the point of needing to get rid of the cats?
Projecting much?
The cat carrier is the BEST idea I’ve heard yet. My best friend won’t take my benadryl and duct tape suggestion, so maybe this one will work on her little heathens..ummm…darlings!.
AAG, I am speaking as one who suffered terribly due to those treasured non-human members of the family. I was not telling you how to do things, Im telling you about later resentments that you may or may not have to deal with later in life.
As a parent, I *Chose* to put my children’s HEALTH before their emotional attachments to a pet. Just how I did things not how you have to. Just do not be too surprised later in life if things dont always turn out the way you like.
Your child may not suffer much yet…it MAY get far worse due to the chronic on going exposure. It’s just one of those decisions each parent has to make. Like, for example getting your children inocculated/vaccinated…some parents don’t…and now we have a measeles outbreak in our school district….law of unintended consequences there.
In the end, all I am doing here is shareing information. How you choose to use it or view it is up to you.
bring back corporal punishment.
I mean this.
Too many of my friends kids show the result of namby-pamby touchy-feely new age parenting.
I don’t mean beat with a belt. IMHO, that’s child abuse. I am talking about good old fashioned manual spanking of brats, your bare hand against his bare ass. That’s a disciplinary action.
Many will disagree. But I know that it worked on me.
Kind of agree with you Puumba.
Allergens while maybe mild as tested by scratch tests are system irritants, constant irritation to a central nervous system and immune system over time can lead to behavioral problems. When not exposed to irritants my kids always were calmer and more well behaved.
Just putting this out there, I am NOT telling anyone how to live. But more info is better than less.