A New Take on Fuzz Therapy

First, let me introduce you to Calvin's idea of fuzz therapy--

We definitely like his kind of fuzz therapy, but we are putting a whole new twist on the term. You see, a week ago we found out Isaac is afraid of cats.  No, afraid isn't the right word.  TERRIFIED (yes, in capital letters) is more like it.

It was not a pleasant experience for anyone. We went to a friend's house Saturday night for dinner and games, that part was fun, but whenever their very calm, sweet cat appeared, Isaac went nuts.  Crying, clinging to Mat, refusing to use the bathroom because he had seen the cat walk by there 20 minutes before.  Craziness!  It made me want to cry to see him feeling that way, and because of a cat no less.

Mid-way through the evening, I boldly declared to Mat, "We need to get a cat."

It took boldness because Mat has never hidden the fact that he is not fond of cats.  Fast forward three days.  It is Tuesday and Mat comes home from the gym.  I introduce him to the cat that he had given his consent for just 24 hours before.  He groans and says, "That is not a cat.  It's a kitten."

"It was free," I say smiling, and cuddling the cutest kitten I have ever seen.

Introducing the kitten to Isaac didn't go as smoothly.  I picked him up from school and asked him if he wanted to see what I had in the soft bag that was hanging from my arm.  He excitedly drew nearer to take a peek, and at the sight of the fuzzy kitten's face staring up at him took a flying leap back to the wall of the school.  I wasn't sure I could talk him into getting in the car with me and was cursing myself for showing it to him.  He did get in the car eventually, and we officially started down our own road of Fuzz Therapy.

I was not able to talk Isaac into getting close to the new kitten, but Evan and Josie were more successful.  Notice in the picture how Evan is gripping Isaac's shoulder to keep him from running away.

Poor Kimball is already at school and didn't get into our new kitten picture.

I tried to let Isaac name the kitten, so he would feel involved, but Evan refused to call the kitten, Monkey Girl.  I suggested Patches or Kit Kat which led to most of us calling her Kit Kat and Isaac telling everyone at school that he had a new cat named Patches.  She has finally been dubbed Kit Kat by all.

Kit Kat--Eight weeks old

We are slowly making progress.  Some days we have real breakthroughs.

Isaac playing with Kit Kat and her favorite toy.

Other days we have set backs.  Like last night when I woke up at 2am to find Isaac asleep sitting up on the couch because Kit Kat had come into his bed and tried to cuddle.  Today, he was much less fond of her.  But we try to focus on the successes.

It turns out Isaac wasn't the only one that had to get used to being around another creature.  I thought Wilma was going to have a nervous breakdown.  Thank heavens Kit Kat could take care of herself.

You'd think Wilma would learn after the first few swipes that cats scratch when sniffed.

They are friends now...sort of.

We sure get a kick out of watching them together.  The funniest thing is that Wilma has practically no sense of smell so she isn't a very good kitten locator, though she would like to be.  One day, just to mess with her I put a small shoe box over Kit Kat.

Wilma was very nearby when I did it.  The box was gliding along the floor on white paws.  I couldn't believe how long it took Wilma to find her.

Ah, what an adventure we have had thus far!

Wish us luck as we continue with Fuzz Therapy.

I was excited to see this.

Maybe someday we'll see Isaac like this.  That is what I call Fuzz Therapy!