As the story goes, a bicyclist found a litter of nearly dead kittens in a bag on the side of the road. By a chain of custody unknown to me, my daughter wound up with two of them which, by the use of eyedroppers and unwavering attention to their care, she nursed back to perfect health.
Shortly following their rehabilitation, diametric personalities began to emerge. Dorian, the solid grey one, was my favorite. His personality actually reflected his name---solid grey. Sebastian, on the other hand, demonstrated a more colorful character very early on. An active disdain for flowers, children, and other living things was noted by even the most casual observer.
I was surprised when Mackenzie, the first candidate to petition for adoption, selected Sebastian over Dorian. Having grown fond of Dorian, I was secretly pleased, but then I suppose my scheme of keeping him in our family menagerie was not as secret as I had hoped.
The following day, as I watched Dorian scampering around in his perfectly unremarkable greyness, I confessed my desire to keep him to my totally unsurprised family. All's well that ends well, or so it seemed; however, within days we would receive the following correspondence from a distressed Mackenzie:
I don't know what to do, when I brought her home she was kind of hissing so I let her nap and thought it helped but then she randomly hissed and striked at me for petting her! and the same with my brother and my dog! all at different times. she's been reallly mean and she was on my bed and my friend came over and pet her and then the kitten stood up and arched her back and started growling and hissing!!! and I had to call my dad in my room because we were scared and it was an hour ordeal to try and get her in her cage! I'm really sorry but I don't know what to do, I really don't want a cat that I'm afraid of especially when's she's only a kitten!
Please help me :(
MackenzieSent from my iPhone
I suggested ignoring the girl, but I then found myself strangely agreeable to a proposed swap. I had in my mind that Dorian was going to grow into a beautiful cat. He would be the sort of perfectly formed grey American House Cat that looks like a sculpture of a cat. Yet somehow Sebastian had a greater aesthetic appeal. She was tortoise shell black-and-orange---mostly black---with a large swath of orange on the front of her neck, and random slashes of orange in other places. Maybe she was more interesting looking in the same way that a dull vase might be after it's shattered and glued back together---and then starts hissing at you.
The deal was arranged. Mackenzie returned with Sebastian and left with Dorian. In spite of my appreciation for her defective personality, I didn't really want to keep Sebastian. Unfortunately, my plans for keeping her sibling had created a certain expectation for having a kitten in the hearts of several young girls, which is as any father of young girls can tell you, not the sort of thing to be trifled with. Besides, Sebastian is not so bad once you have accepted her for what she is and learned how to avoid her wrath by submitting promptly and tirelessly to her every demand. In fact, I have grown very fond of the beast, and as long as I keep a supply of bandages and antibiotic ointments on hand for the children of visitors who ignore my warnings, I've found the legal consequence of keeping her to be relatively few.
I hope Dorian is still grey, and mellow---and not flinging disemboweled mouse carcass onto Mackenzie's keyboard. I understand why Sebastian does this for me; she feels sorry for me because she doesn't think I'm smart enough to hunt for myself. I can see her point, but I'm not sure the gesture would sit well with Mackenzie.
