The Furry Children

When I'm at home and I talk about wanting a baby, I always have to pause and say, "I mean a HUMAN baby, princess." Like so many other queer households we are mommies to two beautiful little girl cats. In fact, it's our house motto: Queer Feminists with Cats.

At the moment we have Wicket, a beautiful black and tan tabby cat who will be five years old in April and Sara, a white and black kitten who will be six months old on Monday. While Emily has been away over the last nine days, Sara has become a very needy little girl. Since she came home to us at 8 weeks, she has been a cuddler, a constant source of purrs. But with Emily gone, she's become a clinger also. I am not allowed to sit at the computer without Sara draped on my lap, held craddled in my left arm or draping herself across the back of my neck, contentedly chewing on my hair. If I sit in my blue chair to read or watch TV, she mews plaintively for me to pick her up and then remembers that she can jump now and lands on my lap, feet splayed. She follows me into the bathroom and demands to sit on my lap.

I was instant messaging with a friend the other night and mentioned that I was becoming quite skilled at typing with one hand while cradling a baby cat in the other. I thought that this would be a useful skill when we have a human baby who needs attention all the time. Her response was that I would have to stop cuddling with Sara all the time or she would be jealous of a baby. And I've been thinking about that. Our cats take almost all of our mothering energy right now. I am Mama and Em is Mommy for them. Uncle is...Uncle. I don't think that there is any way that the cats are going to be happy about a little human who gets most of the attention and cries and doesn't pet them nicely. So, any thoughts? I don't want to stop paying attention to my kitty children, but I also want to prepare them for the changes to come and they don't speak English.