The Cat Issue

We have a cat named Baby Starbuck (no S at the end, a la the Battlestar Galactica character, not the ubiquitous caffeine pusher.)

It took two years of a campaign I called Smitten with Kittens to convince Husband to consent to a cat...I mean I REALLY, REALLY wanted a cat for a long time. And finally when we moved back to Austin in September, I got this teenage kitty who had wandered in from the wild one day to adopt my father-in-law.

Baby Starbuck is gorgeous, on the smaller side, and has the softest short hair coat I've ever felt on a cat. She sits and lounges regally. She has bat-like ears...all meaning, her appearance begs you to cuddle with her.

But appearances can certainly be deceiving; her personality fits her name.

She isn't exactly adult-friendly, let alone baby-friendly. She bites and attacks...A LOT. She turns on you quickly. She is a vengeful kitty who pees on personal items (blankets, pillows) if you exclude her, or if you don't keep her litter box OCD clean. She wants to always have you in sight, but she doesn't want you to actually pet her or look at her too much.

After 7 months of trying to assert my dominance, I have accepted that I am not the alpha kitty in this house. I am Baby Starbuck's bitch. But I just love her so much!! ...Did I mention she has to have special prescription cat food because she has delicate kidneys?

Obviously we can't keep her once we have a new baby. It would be disastrous for TBD! Starbuck would institute daily slash and pee sessions. I'd walk away for one second and have to run back quickly to find a bloody infant doused in hateful cat piss. No ma'am.

Really, she needs to be an outdoor cat, preferably outdoors in a place where she can stalk and viciously kill a wide variety of prey. We're talking some crazy hunting instincts in this kitty. Maybe a barn cat is her highest potential.

This reality breaks my heart.