Here kitty, kitty!

Ok, so we have two cat-- although if visiting you’re almost certain to see only one. One is a little, let’s say, feisty. To say he’s not much for visitors would be an understatement.

Gunther came to us from a family of other kitties whose mom was a stray. A friend of my husband saw the mother cat struggling to carry her babies one-by-one across the street under a bush when the family came out and rescued the handful of kittens and finally the mother cat.

We had done some research and decided early on that the best fit would be to get a male cat, as our other cat, Flika, is a female. When we first visited Gunther he and his sister and brothers were resting comfortably in my husband’s friend’s basement weeks away from safely being adopted. We scooped all of the kittens up and placed them in our laps. Each cuddled up nuzzled into crevices of our arms, legs and neck—except for Gunther. After each placement back into our lap, he’d land on the floor, or climbing behind our heads or wherever he could get that was just enough out of reach that we’d have to get up and move to get him. “That’s the one I want!” exclaimed my husband. Great. Let’s settle on ADD cat!! That will go over real well with my charming little lady cat who’s as docile as docile can be.

Well a few weeks later we drove up to claim our new kitty. At first he was a sweetie. He’s nap with you, and cuddle. He and Flika had their moments until each got used to the other being a part of the family. Flika especially since this was her turf and now it was being invaded by ADD cat.

Fast forward six years and two children later. Gunther is less than amused by our girl’s chasing him down to pet him, which is a daily occurrence in our home.
This all started, and has now become a steady post-dinner ritual, when Alexandra was about two. Dad and she would run upstairs and announce “Let’s get Gunther.” Everyone lands on all fours with cocked heads to the side to get a glimpse of two scared cats under the bed. Gunther inevitably hisses and on occasion spits, but dad and the girls seem to think this is a real treat. Until today…

Alexandra has recently learned more about danger and now finds Gunther frightening if he’s a little too aggressive. As she lifts the bed skirt, Gunther lets out his usual barrage of hisses warding of the enemy. Cats do this as a warning, right, but no one here seems to heed that warning.

Annika now has gotten in on the act but has yet to learn danger. So Gunther is a little more feisty than usual today—what else is new, right. Well, Annika has now half of her miniscule cranium under the bed, arms sweeping back and forth, and until like a scene from Discovery, Gunther lunges at her and swats her chubby little arm as if he’s a lion after a gazelle.

She’s completely freaked by this incident, as is Alexadnra. Now I have two children in hysterics. After a long drawn out few mintes of wiping tears and calming fears, the girls quickly recover.

Bath and bedtime come and go, and as I exit the bedrooms after my last kiss goodnight, who’s looking at me purring? You guessed it. Gunther, the same cat who will cuddle up with me for eight hours each night and rest comfortably until a new day dawns; and the girls look for another day ofa cruel game of hide and seek.