The Perils of Sabine

Catching up on some reading

I took some video today of Sabine and Ainsley (it's below if you wanna skip the text), and I decided that part of understanding the cuteness of Ainsley and Xander is understanding the pets that love/tolerate them. So, here is the first in a three-part series...Dedicated to Sabine aka Fat Blacky, Bean, Beaner, Ms. Fatty Boom Batty and on and on.




Peril 1: Watching Her Mom Die

Aissa (in back) with Sabine

I adopted Sabine in 1999 when I moved into my non-curry-and-ass smelling apartment that was big enough to support two kitties.  I felt that Aissa, my first cat who ran away about 8 years ago, needed a playmate. My aunt Sarah knew someone who found a litter of kittens on the side of the road—the momma had been hit by a car.  We drove out and I got my tiny black kitty.  She got on with Aissa pretty well.  Aissa hated her and hissed a lot; Sabine promptly fell asleep. Eventually, they fell in kitty love, and Aissa became a fauxMomma.

For those of you who don't know this, Sabine is a fatty.  She will cut you for some food. As a kitten, she once tried to attack me for a pizza. I was squirting her with a water bottle, and she was taking it because she wanted pizza. She had this uncanny knack of doing something bad—stealing pizza, for example—then looking at me with these huge "I saw my mom die" eyes that prevented me from being angry with her.

Peril 2: Sadie

Sabine and Sadie in 2003

Sadie actually wasn't too much of a peril for Sabine because Sabine convinced Sadie that she was bigger than her and could kick her ass. In Sadie's defense, when we got her, Sabine was bigger than her.  Once, we were hanging out in the basement, and Sadie tried to go upstairs.  She stopped at the bottom of the steps and whimpered.  Sabine was sitting at the top of the steps giving Sadie the "Yeah, try it." look. It was hilarious.

Sabine and Sadie stand off

Actually, Aissa took the arrival of Sadie much harder than Sabine did; she eventually took off and never came home. Sabine and Sadie settled into a relationship of a married couple who've fallen out of love but can't afford divorce. They tolerated one another, but didn't really like each other.



Peril 3: Boomer and Her Subsequent Suicide Attempts

When Boomer arrived Sabine protested by hiding under the bed.  Then she protested by pissing all over our couch and house. She actually had a really bad infection that we've treated with meds, but she still occasionally gives us a statement pee...and the vet says that her condition is something like 40 percent medical and 60 percent behavioral (read: she's a bitch).

As we started considering getting pregnant, I had to seriously consider whether or not Sabine was going to be a part of our family. As pet owners/lovers, I believe the pay off of pet ownership counteracts the drawbacks (fur, mess, etc.).  But I draw the line at cat pee that ruins $600 couches and contaminates my children.  Ultimately Sabine shaped up...and I got pregnant.

Peril 4: Ainsley

Kitty!

When Ainsley was born, Sabine decided that the baby was moderately interesting, but didn't really care about her. However, once Ainsley started eating food, Sabine became much more interested.  Part of the conditions of Sabine's continued life was that she no longer was given people food—it contributed to her-pissing-on-everything illness.  So, Ainsley's dropping food everywhere was literally manna from Heaven for Ms. Fatty.

Of course, Ainsley's mobility and desire to GRAB the kitty made her less appealing.  So, Sabine sits up in high places or hides under beds until the Ainsley naps or goes to bed...then she comes out to look at us like we suck.

Kitty! Part II

Peril 5: Xander


Xander is just as interested in Sabine as Ainsley is.  When he wakes up in the morning, she's waiting for treats on her dry sink. He greets her with what I think is his saying, "Keeeeeeeee!!!" Even if it's not, he always gets really excited to see her and grabs at her.  He's surprisingly tender with her—she'll let him pet her even. I guess she favors Xander. Of course, he's escalating his need to touch her—I'm guessing he'll be giving her the full-on Of Mice and Men treatment soon.

While Sabine didn't really have much of a negative reaction with the addition of Xander to our family, she did have a weird positive one—she has now decided that Sadie and Boomer are no longer her enemies. I suppose it's because the dogs don't try to pull her tail. Or maybe it's because the kids'll go for Boomer and Sadie before they'll go for Sabine.  She's working under the "I don't have to outrun the kid, I just have to outrun you." method.

I'm working hard to get Ainsley and Xander to treat Sabine well. I want her to bond with Ainsley, partially because A wants it so badly, and partially because I want Sabine to have more lovins.

Today, I caught Ainsley trying to feed Sabine chocolate cake.  I told her that chocolate is bad for kitties, so, naturally, Ainsley decided to give Sabine her leftover taco salad. Once again, I had to stop her and explain that Sabine cant' have people food. So, I let Ainsley give her some wet food...and Ainsley was thrilled.