My 1st Baby

I know I don't talk about it much, but I do have another baby.  Actually, he's a teenager now.  I adopted Tommie at the age of approximately six months old, and up until I entered into the crazy world of Foster/Adopt Land three years ago, it was just me and my boy for about twelve years.

Foster care has been a difficult adjustment for my first baby.  Mostly because he's been used to having me all to himself.  And then there's the whole "babies chasing him around the house and pulling his hair" thing that drives him crazy.  He tends to hide under chairs, beds, etc. just to escape their little clutches.  And then Monkey came along.  We haven't had a baby as young as Monkey before, and Tommie had a rather difficult time accepting our new family member.  So much so that he started PEEING on everything right in front of me every time he saw me holding the baby.

You might be wondering what is wrong with my 15-year-old that he hides under furniture and thinks it's okay to pee on things in front of me, but I think it's understandable. 

Yep...  That's him!  That's my Tommie Cat!  :)  And I've got to say, he's becoming quite the little stinker in his old age.  I have to admit, I was a little worried for the first few weeks after Monkey came to us.  Nothing like having a cat give you "the finger" and pee smack in the middle of your bed to express his "feelings."

He looks angry, huh?  This was the first week after Monkey moved in.

I'm not really sure what happened to turn things around, but things started getting better around week three or four.  Actually, (and I'm almost afraid to admit this on the World Wide Web) I changed my work schedule to accommodate my cat.  I decided to work earlier so I could come home for about an hour every afternoon while the baby was still in daycare.  Tommie gets his "Mama Time" and I usually get a short nap.  :)  I changed where I feed the baby too.  Instead of sitting in the rocker, I curl up with both babies on the couch so Tommie feels more like he's a part of things.  That's also about the same time that we really started to notice Monkey's health problems, and since that time, Tommie has sort of taken Monkey under his protection and is more of a guard kitty to him.  I've even found him asleep on the floor next to Monkey's crib some nights.  Nowadays, Tommie is never far from Monkey's side...

This particular photo was taken about 3 seconds before Monkey reached up and took a fistful of fur from Tommie's backside.  Poor cat wasn't even mad... To be honest, he looked more embarrassed than anything that he let a 4-month-old get the better of him.

Why yes, that is the 15-year-old kitty cat playing with the baby's toys.  :-)  I have an awesome video of this, but I said Monkey's real name so I can't post it here.  It was another of those "embarrassed that he got caught" moments.  So funny!  :-)

Me and my first baby.  :-)

 

I suppose all I can say is that I'm glad the caseworkers can't interview him when they come out to the house.  Thankfully he didn't pee on anything in front of them those first few weeks.  As it is, he licked my agency director's toes while she was trying to type up my homestudy.  He buries his head in Monkey's caseworker's purse every time she comes out.  He was all over Monkey's attorney (who is highly allergic to cats).  And he somehow managed to steal the ECI lady's pen.  He can be rather obnoxious, and there's no doubt he's spoiled rotten to the core.  But he's my first "baby."  And according to the vet at his last checkup, he's not going anywhere any time soon.  :-)