Strange Machines

Mom’s Beef Stew: an original recipe.

Makes one week’s supply of beef stew for babies and cats. So far the hubby says it is tasty, Jack (the baby) likes only 3 bites, and the cats love it.

Ingredients:
300g premium minced beef
1 handful frozen sweet corn, peas, carrots
1/2 handful pasta (twirly ones in durum wheat)
1 small tomato (cut in 4)
10 leaves of baby spinach

Non-edibles:
Non-stick pot with cover
5 baby glass bottles, sterilised and dried
Bowl for distribution to cats

Cook it:
1. Throw all ingredients into pot.
2. Add water to just cover the ingredients.
3. Turn on fire. Ensure is boiling then turn to low.
4. Leave for 1 hour but return every 15 minutes to make sure it is not burnt. If running low on water, add a small bit more.
5. When cooked, let cool for a while before bottling. Put in freezer.
6. Place remainder in bowl and distribute to cats.

How to use:
When you wish to feed baby, put 1 bottle to thaw in refrigerator 4 hours before. If you forget, microwave on high for 1 minute then use spoon to stir. If still cold, repeat. If baby dislikes food, feed cats. If cats dislike it, you don’t have to make lunch for yourself.

Although he began cruising in a fashion a couple of weeks ago, Jack is seriously at it now. Today, being open house day for the cats and all, he cooed at the cats and crawled confidently to the living room where he cruised from one chair to another while looking triumphantly at me.

After his nap, he played with Boy some excitedly patting his tummy pretty hard till I had to put an end to it. Boy lay there tolerating it for quite a while before getting annoyed and leaving. Tux went up to Jack later to meow at him, maybe to thank him for annoying Boy. :p

It is open day for the cats every Saturday and Sunday, and supervised playtime for the cats and Jack. Today, the kids got all upclose and personal.

Jack wakes up from a nap, looking rather disoriented.

He notices his brother Boy lying nearby.

Then goes across to say hi.

It’s open house day today for the cats and the critters cheerily explored the house then went to their fave corners for a nap. Jack, too was due for a nap but was too distracted to sleep. He pooped twice and I wanted to slip out to wash my hands.

Buffy was lying on her usual perch and I edged to the bathroom saying, “Mommy will be back in 1 minute”. He kept looking and smiling at Buffy who was blinking back. I quickly washed my hands and returned. There was nary a peep!

I decided to try again shortly after he nipped my nipple and refused to nap. I got up and said, “Mommy will be back in 1 minute”. He smiled and stayed put till I returned. This is monumental as he’d never let me out of his sight before (unless someone else was around).

The kids seem calm around him now and he’s simply delighted to see them. They’re used to his crying and it seems unlikely they’ll mark again out of fear. Looks like open house might be able to be extended forever now.

There is a curious similarity between my two boys Jack and Tux. They both love to slide open their father’s cupboard door, go through the garbage bin, and even tear open supermarket-sized plastic bags with stuff inside.

Both howl a lot, and demand a lot of their parents’ attention. They both love to eat a lot and just about anything. Tuxie has been known to even tear through candy and chocolate wrappers. Jack gnaws through anything plastic-wrapped.

Both are big-boned and heavy. In fact they weigh the same: 9kg!

Both have the same naughty look on their faces…

Jack is down with flu. I should have really known better. His cousin has been coughing for a week now. I should have kept him away. His nose had been runny for a few days, and he’d been sleeping shorter periods at night. More 4.5+4 than the usual 5+5 or 6+4. Sunday he was more subdued and his nose ran even more.

Sunday night he woke several times with a crying burst but when I got up he was fast asleep again. Finally at 6am, I decided to wake him for a feed, feeling particularly dehydrated myself. His nose was full of snot. I cleaned him up and fed him. He fed well, unlike his last feed at 1145pm. He smiled several times, and then slept again. At 10am another cry woke me. He was asleep again but I picked him up for a feed. Once again he ate well, and stayed up to play.

Last night he slept 9 hours! Then again, maybe I was just too tired to wake up for a night feed. He nursed fairly well - I was quite engorged, and after, treated me with happy smiles, coos, and ahhs. Back in his cot for a while, he was talking to himself quite cheerily, then later cries for a suckle and nap in Mom’s arms (more like on the MBF so I can type).

Boy too, is sick. He has a blocked urinary tract which can be fatal if unchecked. I’ve blogged about how it started on Five Cats Blog and what happened at the vet clinic and after.

His appetite has been poor but it could be the new c/d food he’s been put on or his house arrest in my room. He ate quite a bit from my hand yesterday but nothing today. The good news is he is peeing in puddles! With his own poo pan in the bathroom, it’s been easier to track his pee schedule. He’s been quite happy napping by my feet, on the rug, or in his Dad’s sock closet, although once in a while he does get wanderlust and sits by the door looking at me forlornly.

As for he and Jack, it’s almost as if he understands the baby needs me a lot more, physically and emotionally, so he sits or lies close by quietly. He knows Jack’s smell is my smell. Sometimes I let him sniff Jack’s hair or hand, and he does so with an acknowledging nod.

Cat experts have often noted how cats know babies are small humans and give them a ton of leeway they normally wouldn’t accord big humans. I’ve noticed this in all the kids. Buffy particularly, who is perpetually jealous of anyone who takes her Daddy’s attention away, is protective of Jack. Perhaps he smells like her Dad too!

I hope both kids get well soon. It’s always terrible to see your children ill, but it melts my heart to see how brave and upbeat they have both managed to be - Boy, selflessly sacrificing Mom-time for baby’s needs but remaining close to us like a guardian and constant companion (I can imagine the wonderful days and nights ahead when the cat-kids comfort an ill Jack and vice versa), and Jack despite an uncomfortably runny nose and cough, never without a smile for anyone watching over him.

The joys of motherhood are much to behold. I have had such immeasurable joy since I gave birth to Jack that I’d gladly suffer the 28 hour labour and the trying first month all over again. Many have told me that once I have my own (human) child that I would feel differently about my cats and very easily give them up. I scoffed at such comments, although secretly in my heart I feared that I would love them less, and worse, bear to give them up.

Into my third month of (human) motherhood now, I find that that hasn’t been the case. If anything, I love and appreciate my cat-children even more and find so much more delight in them. The difference between loving them and loving Jack is that Jack needs me constantly. I confess I had neglected them quite a bit those early days. I remember Boy’s forlorn looks, Tux meowing at me for attention. Now that things have stabilised, I’ve been able to spend more quality time with them, without neglecting Jack as well. That’s what parenthood is about, isn’t it? Loving all your children, adopted and otherwise, each as much but differently.

And cats, like children, change over the years. What a delight it is to watch them every day. The joy of watching Kaku play with her mouse toy, carrying it around like it is her baby, grooming it, swatting it and grasping it with her paw! Coming home to see Tuxie lounging on the sofa like a possum and staring innocently at us. Boy napping on the couch head, contented now that the rest don’t bug him as much. Sam (Mu Child as we call him more and more these days) finally succeeding in jumping down from the rafters all by himself! Buffy, a gentle protector watching over all of us, her family.

I grasp these moments like a lifeboat, knowing that we have such a short time together. Life is, unforgivingly short. Even more so with our beloved cats. Children are not meant to outlive their parents. With my 5 cat-children, the probability is very high that I will outlive them. It would pain me so much to have to see them die one day. But as the saying goes, it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Isn’t that what life is all about? I raised all 5 from the time they were kittens, adopted them with the promise that I would care for them all my life, and give them every bit of love I have. I will not give them up simply because hearsay dictates pregnancy and cats are incompatible, or that cats and children cannot coexist. I have done my research. I know what is fact and what is fiction.

So if you are reading this because you found this entry while Googling “cats and babies” or “cats and pregnancy”, please do your research, check up on the facts. Don’t give up your pet because some “concerned” person says they will cause allergies, malformations in your child, or any other similar misinformed problem. Stand your ground. Those who believe strongly in this myth will persist. I still hear it from many well-meaning folk. From the lips of those who did give their pets up, it is a terrible thing to live with the guilt that you sentenced your pet to death.

Yes, giving them up to the SPCA, AVA, or risk giving him to someone who may abandon it eventually, is tantamount to a death sentence. If you didn’t know, SPCA simply doesn’t have the space so they have to put down (read: kill) most of the pets turned in to them. Similarly, with AVA. You’ll be very fortunate to find a good adopter. There will always be the possibility that the person may abandon your pet (who may get caught by AVA and put down, or worse, taken by an animal abuser) or give it up to SPCA or AVA.

For those still worried about cats and children, my son is wonderful, normal (no allergies, eczema, asthma), immensely happy, and to his family and friends, the most beautiful child, who lives with his Mommy, Daddy, and 5 cat-siblings.

Boy watches Jack air himself

And then practice kick

Try a boogie

And realise Mommy is watching with a cam

That’s funny, he thinks

Jack: Boy, is Mommy always a paparazzi?

Boy: Yes, she is!

Jack: Aww… let’s look away… *shy*