Every one needs a Kitten

If you haven’t come by the office recently and seen our new clinic cat, Buckwheat, you really should.  He is a 6 lb; black and white; long-haired; ball of mayhem, energy, and laughter.  We have had him for about 5 months and he has taken the role of clinic mascot since the passing of “Wildman” who may have been 20 years old.

It had been a few years since I had been around a kitten on a daily basis and I forgot how much fun they can be. 

Let me describe this beast for you.  The cat literally has no fear or concept that he should be scared of dogs/people/other cats, especially the ones that can shallow him whole.  He runs at and play attacks almost every dog that comes back to the treatment room, including pawing at legs (he is declawed) and grabbing their tails.  He has also successfully “killed” every cord (which we have a few) that is dangling from any of the number of machines we have (by the way, this is a good way to anger the people paying for them aka Dr. Y and myself). 

No dust bunny/hair ball goes unpunished under Buck’s dominion.  Any tantalizing shoe lace, mesmerizing neck tie, tempting stethoscope is sure to come under fire when Buck is on the prowl.  After he has been kept in his cat condo for the weekend, he spends the first 3 hours on Monday morning running non-stop making sure no one has moved anything without his approval.  He is the king of his domain and no attempt to usurp him from his throne will be left unchallenged, including by us (have a feeling most cat owners feel this way).  When you get on to him for doing something wrong, he looks at you with his head half-tilted to the side with the “whose place do you think this is, buddy” look, and you know you are in trouble.

For all his Napoleon complex personality traits, he really is a cute cat who is fun to be around.  You don’t realize how quick you find an attachment to them.  He is a barrel of monkeys/nest of hornets/pride of lions/pack of wild dogs (any other clichés you can find) rolled into one.  He makes it fun to come into work to see what he will get into next (usually the trash).

Every kid needs to experience the joy of owning a cat or dog, the responsibility of caring for it, and the unconditional love they provide (you thought you would get out of here without the plug for getting another pet??).  My kids help me feed my dogs every night, and boy, help me if I forget to let them help.  They really are part of your family and those memories you make last a lifetime. 

Dr. B