The Magic of Bunny Pearl

Every time we bring home a new cat, I'm always a bit amazed by how they seem to find their place in the ecosystem of the house. As everyone's new BFF, Bunny Pearl (who should have been named Kevin, or maybe Birdie) has taken this to a whole new level. 

Bunny P and Taro

Somehow she has managed to befriend all of the other animals in the house--even Momo who absolutely does not need (or want) your love, or your attention, or, really, even your existence. Bunny Pearl can get anyone to snuggle up to her. I was surprised when nervous Taro slept with her but absolutely astounded when Falcon sent a picture of her sleeping with MOMO. 

Bunny P and Momo

Not only do they all seem to like her, but Bunny Pearl has also helped them to start liking, or at least tolerating, each other. Before her, Momo never spent time near the dog and Taro wouldn't even come downstairs. Now we occasionally see all four of them hanging out with us in the living room in the evenings.

Taro!

Shiro loves having a little sister. Despite Shiro's complete lack of chill, Bunny Pearl stands her ground, unfazed when the dog licks her face or barrels into her. Both of them meet me at the door when I come home from work and follow me around until I've put my things away and changed my clothes. They won't leave me alone until they're sure they've received enough pets. Lately they seem to egg one another on. Both come running when they hear the ice maker or the air popper, and they fight over whatever I drop. Bunny P and Shiro take turns begging at the table all doe-eyed. And, since Bunny P gets on the counters, Shiro thinks she should, too. Double trouble.

Bunny P and Shiro

Honestly, though, the real Magic of Bunny Pearl is the enthusiasm with which she engages with humans. She likes to show off for guests. She waits just outside a closed door so she can catch us up on the latest news with her unrelenting meowing. She licks our faces (and hands and toes) like a dog who hasn't seen its owner in years. She prefers to be carried like baby. In fact, her favorite position is cradled in our arms with her head and feet dangling. I had no idea cats could be so floppy. 

Honestly, I'm not even sure Bunny Pearl is a cat. Maybe she's an angel who hasn't earned her wings, yet. That might explain why she falls off of things all the time! 

The Fallout

So where does the story go next? I suppose it goes the only way it can.

Stow missed two full days of school followed by two days at school without going to any classes and then two more days when he went to half of his classes but didn't quite make it to the end of the day. 

After an unbelievably slow start, the district finally figured out how they should respond to the incident. It took nearly 48 hours before I heard from anyone at the school (the principal) and another day and a half for the superintendent to reach out with a plan for Stow's safe return. In the interim, we only got bits and pieces of information from friends. If the admin was addressing the issue and making plans behind closed doors, they forgot to tell us, which meant that even if Stow felt ok, we couldn't have sent him back to school. On the bright side, thanks to this situation, the district now has clearer policies on how to communicate with families who have experienced something like we did as well as on how to manage incidents at non-school, school-adjacent events.

I can’t say much about how the discipline aspect of this issue was dealt with, but I can tell you that the district has been quick to schedule convocations about bullying in a number of the schools. They also seem to be listening when I tell them that none of this would have happened had there been better support for Stow during the school day. Our ideas about what that support should look like differ, but at least the conversation is happening. 

And, Stow? As with so many other things, it is hard to tell where he is with all of this. He doesn't sleep as well as he did before the concussion, and he doesn't feel like doing anything that requires concentration or a focus on details. His anxiety level is high, but that seems to have less to do with a fear of being hit again and more to do with not feeling well and having his routine disrupted. Our next step is an IEP meeting during which we will try to figure out how to mitigate potential negative impacts on his academic and social progress.

Shiro finally found a cat who will be patient with her

A cat in the box

*****

Coda: Bunny Pearl

During all of this, we have also been adjusting to a new cat. 

We got Bunny Pearl because Falcon was staring down a really scary health diagnosis. She hates anything to do with needles, so any time she gets a shot or a blood draw, it can be a major ordeal. And every time, she asks me to get her another cat. Historically, my answer has always been no. Given what the doctor was saying, though, it looked like she would have many more encounters with needles as we figured out what was going on with her. So, I told Ren we should get another cat. Always practical, he thought we should wait. But once I decided to get a third cat, I couldn't let go of the idea. When Falcon sent the Humane Society link with Bunny Pearl's picture to me, I convinced Ren we'd waited long enough. 

And, the rest is history--well, except for the part where the scary blood test results turned out to be much less frightening because they aren't as accurate in kids. On the Wednesday that we took Stow back to school for the first time, we also took Falcon to the pediatric specialty clinic an hour away. Not knowing how Stow would do at school or what the doctor would tell us at Falcon's appointment made for an especially tense day. In the end, though, everything turned out pretty ok.

Bunny Pearl has been here through it all, insisting I pick her up, sit with her for a while, and chill the heck out. Turns out we DID need a new cat but not for the reasons I imagined.

To commemorate the past week, I'm thinking of getting a shirt made that says: "I went to hell and back and all I got was a crazy kitten and this lousy t-shirt."

This is my third post about Stow's concussion.

Part 1 of this story is here.

Part 2 of this story is here.

Not Kevin

For years Falcon has been campaigning for a third cat. Once Shiro (our golden retriever service dog) joined us, she doubled down, insisting that Shiro needed a friend. Momo, our 7-year-old calico, and Taro, our 5-year old gray-blue cat, want nothing to do with Shiro. Since Shiro seems to have zero ability to be cool or chill, she consistently succeeds at fully irritating the cats. The always reticent Taro won't even be in the same room when Shiro isn't crated, and Momo has dealt with Shiro's boundless joy by clearly asserting her dominance. Whenever Shiro tries to say hello with a nose boop, she gets a cat-paw thwap on the head in return. 

Shiro demonstrating her lack of chill.

Thwap

For almost as long as Falcon has wanted a cat, I've wanted a cat named Kevin. Momo, Taro, and Kevin just has such an amazing ring to it. Momo, Taro, Shiro, and Kevin. 

Timid Taro

Momo doesn't need you

Recently Falcon had to have some blood drawn. Since she has an extreme needle phobia, having blood drawn is no easy feat. Every time she has to do something that requires a needle to pierce her skin, she asks me if I will give her another cat. I always say no. But the last blood test was different. First, Falcon asked me to take her to get it; I make it a point not to force her to have things done to her body without her permission, so I'd been waiting to get this one done for a few months. How do I make sure she is as healthy as she can be without forcing her? It's a difficult line to walk, but she has always come around to blood draws and shots on her own eventually (though sometimes with a lot of strong encouragement from me). This time, there was no cajoling. 

Second, even though the draw happened at a place where Falcon had one of her worst blood-draw experiences ever (they restrained her in something that looked a lot like a straightjacket), she walked into that lab like a champ. And, even though the phlebotomist decided that the best conversation topic to distract her was FOOD ALLERGIES and how sorry she felt for kids who have food allergies and especially for kids with PEANUT allergies,*** Falcon kept her cool. When the phlebotomist got a "bad" vein and had to try again on the other arm, though, the traumatizing allergy conversation started to get to Falcon. By the time the blood was drawn, she was positively pale, blue almost. Immediately, her body reacted to the stress by making her throw up. 

As the mom of a kid who struggles with this particular phobia, I couldn't imagine a worse scenario. How would I EVER convince Falcon to have blood drawn again? Of course, I left that experience praying she wouldn't need blood drawn for a long, long time. The universe didn't comply, though. It turns out Falcon is going to need more blood tests and probably fairly regularly. Not long before I had to give her that news, I decided it was time to get Kevin.

The hiccup, of course, is that I had to convince Ren that this was a good idea. He understood my motivation but also wondered why we needed another cat. He's sure he is the one who spends the most time caring for them (he's not). It took about three days for him to come around, and as soon as he gave the slightest indication that he would support the idea, Falcon and I were in the car on our way to the Humane Society. 

That's how cats come into our lives. 

We had a particular cat in mind when we got there, but the place was packed and the lines long, so we were sure she'd be gone. Both of us had a hard time being patient as we waited. When we finally got to the front of the line, we were thrilled to learn the cat was still there and that there was still enough time before they closed for us to see if she was the one for us.

She was.

But, apparently she isn't a Kevin. I mean, I campaigned HARD, but sometimes no one else in my family gets my sense of humor. Birdie was a close second choice for me, but that also got shot down. So, meet Bunny Pearl. She's named after the shiba-inu we had when we lived in Japan.

Bunny P

She seems right at home in MY CHAIR

Considering the fact that we were a pet-less family for more than 10 years, I find it pretty funny that we have so many animals living with us now. Just imagine how much vacuuming Ren has to do!

***For those who haven't been long-time readers: Falcon has many serious food allergies, including to peanuts.  Link and link.