Monday, March 02, 2009

Farewell, Stanne with an E.

Tonight our cat Stan is, in the vernacular of these days, " going bye-bye." I have finally gotten my soul around the hard truth that he is not suited for co-habitation with a small child. Most of the time, he is a fairly mellow fellow, but he has fits of... for lack of a better word, "bitey-ness." Which is fine if you are an adult and you are expecting it... although it's pretty hard to expect b/c it's usually like an attack from Special Forces - swift and fierce and out of the blue. And with Aiden getting more mobile, the time has come to be more proactive about babyproofing our environment. So Stan is a victim of babyproofing cutbacks.

Fortunately, I have found him a good home with a former co-worker of mine. I am so happy that I didn't have to take him to a shelter and that I know he will be going to a good home where there are even other animals! I am hoping he will acclimate well - making friends and influencing fellow pets. I can't quite believe this situation has worked out...it's almost too good to be true. I'm afraid this wonderful former coworker, who I hadn't talked to for over six months, and who I randomly emailed, asking if she wanted to take Stan in, will change her mind or something and bring him back. I won't really believe it has worked until a few weeks go by.

I am trying hard not to be sad. I am reminding myself that the list of reasons why we should give him away is far longer than the list of reasons to keep him. Basically, there are two reasons why we should keep him: 1) Because I am insanely loyal and 2) Because sometimes he sits in my lap and makes me feel warm and cozy. The reasons we should say goodbye to him are so long that I won't even start. Anyway, the most important reason is Aiden's safety and so I know I am doing the right thing.

So I am deliberately refraining from a long and sentimentally nostalgic post about how we brought him home as a kitten from a yardsale...and all the cute things he did...and...how he was a part of our lives for almost two and a half years....aaauuugh!

3 comments:

KJ said...

I'm sorry Claire-y. It is hard and it'll be different for a bit, but I'm sure you'll be so happy in the end. He was a wonderful addition to the family for a period of time, but that time is over now.

I had my cat for eons and had a love/hate relationship with her. I used to pray she would just die in her sleep and get it over with, because it would be too sad to get rid of her. But then we did get rid of her to a happy home where she was greatly loved and I am so happy to have her gone now :)

Shari said...

I'm so sorry ClaireBear. I'm sure Stan will be very happy in his new home. When my cats died, I thought that I would grieve forever, but it was SO part of God's timing and such a blessing that they went before we had Maisy. Love to you and Stan and Brad and Aiden!

CKS said...

Did you ever consider body armor for Aidan? There is more than one way to childproof a home (AND skin a cat). Body armor would produce a Win-Win-Win-Win situation, I think Michael Scott would say.