Parenthood

Having a cat is a lot like having a toddler. There are a lot of advantages to the cat, like being able to leave it alone at home all day, but there are many similarities:

Their communication is limited. Cats are very good at communicating. They have a lot of different vocalisations, and you learn to recognise what quite a few of them are. But a lot of the time they'll just be going on and on and on and on about something and you have absolutely no clue what they're on about, or what they want when they're complaining but have food, fresh watter, and a clean litter tray.

They sometimes need their bum cleaned. Even well-toilet-trained kids sometimes have accidents, and so do cats. They get diarrhea, they leave a mess on the floor. If they're really fluffy (like mine), they can even get dags. So, you need to wash their bums. Stinkyyyyyyy!

They want you to wake up at a certain time of day, no matter how late the night before was. Children tend to like life to be reasonably predictable I was like this, and would be jumping on my parents' bed at 6am, insisting that it was time for dad to make coffee even though I'd kept them up until 3am the night before. Cats can be similar, and mine gets quite distressed if I'm not up when he expects me to be up. He also gets distressed if Oolon isn't up early enough as well. They don't cope too well with change.

They often decide they want hugs in the middle of the night. Most people who know parents are familiar with the toddler that wakes up in the middle of the night and wants to sleep in mum and dad's bed. Cats are like this, too. In the middle of the night, you will often wake up to a very loud rumbling in your ear, a furry weight on your chest, and your nose being sandpapered. This is your cat telling you that it thinks you're utterly brilliant and wanting hugs in the middle of the night. Just like a kid.

They are happies when snuggled between you and your spouse.  When Smudge is wanting attention, be it in the middle of the night or early in the morning, he seems happiest if he's between me and Oolon, in the way that kids tend to be. You are snug and warm in a safe place, and getting in the way of any siblings occurring :-p Unfortunately for Smudge, if we decide to get another cat, that will happen down the road at the shelter and no amount of snuggling in between us will help him!