When Grizzlewick was very young (but old enough to chase our cats), we decided that it would make good sense to let him get whacked a couple of times. We figured that a well-placed tap from our most visible cat* would serve two purposes:
1. It would make Grizzlewick less inclined to damage our cat a second time
2. It would let our cat know that he didn’t necessarily have to suffer through the ENTIRE raft of pain meted out to him by said child.
A warning to others: this parenting experiment has been a dismal failure.
Grizzlewick WILL cry when scratched by our cat. But it doesn’t put him off, nosiree bob. He’s a persistent litthe bugger. In Grizzlewick’s defence, he often has a completely loving gesture to give – a kiss on the head, a gentle pat, a hauling across the room that results in the cat being placed in front of the heater.
What’s more, or possibly because of the inconsistency of the “loving”, neither has our cat figured out that the best thing would be to bolt at first sign of Grizzlewick. No, he lazes around the house, seemingly lovable, tolerating being dragged around at the shoulders until, much like Mel Gibson, he snaps, losing his easy-going persona and lashing out at the nearest person - mostly Grizzlewick, but sometimes Mr Fix or myself (that’s the cat, not Mel Gibson. Although given the way that Mel Gibson sometimes behaves, I’m sure we’re not that far down the list).
Will it ever stop? Yo, I don’t know (but probably by the time Grizzlewick turns 10).
* We have two cats, although many of our friends dispute this on the basis that the second cat is rarely seen.
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2 comments:
Heh. This was the exact strategy MrB and I came up with when Miss M was born! We figured - let em get scratched, it'll only happen the once... 'cept it didn't really. But that was only because of Miss M's love of tail-pulling - it's the one thing Inigo will NOT put up with. Luckily she's grown out of it now... and equally luckily the twins have not shown any signs of this character trait.
you were brave to rely on there being a gap between elevation from "well-placed cat tap" to "serious skin shredding with claws and possibly biting" during which you, as responsible and caring parents, could intervene.
but i like your work there. i would have done the same thing.
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