Enjoy!
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Have you ever seen someone in charge of a group of children
become overwhelmed with the situation and throw their hands up in the air as an
exasperated, “It’s like herding cats!” escapes their lips?
As a person who has raised both children and cats with
varying degrees of success (depending on who you ask), I feel I can confidently
say that there is definite merit to the above statement. There is so much in common between the two
such as the complete lack of concern over what the desired behavior actually
is, the need to turn private time into a spectator sport, and the ability to
somehow sound like a herd of elephants despite being a fraction of the required
size. Of course, there are also obvious
differences like feeding, bathing, and how to keep them in one place.
Take the need for good behavior and good manners. Neither small children nor cats care one iota
about how their behavior reflects on the adult in the situation as long as they
are enjoying the moment in their own fashion.
For children, this typically manifests as giggle fits and running in
erratic circles around the area while the parent frantically tries to corral
them in a dignified manner before resorting to tripping someone. For cats, this often plays out in what should
probably be hysterical antics when something that has just been forbidden from
the feline is stolen anyway and gets batted around the house for quite some
time while a human follows in zigzags, making vain grabs for the item in
question and demanding the animal stop the game and return the possession
immediately as if actually expecting this to happen.
Next is the ever-popular Olympic sport waiting to happen “peeing
before someone or something forces their way into the bathroom”. This one is fairly self-explanatory. There isn’t a parent alive that hasn’t found
themselves in the unenviable position of being trapped on that throne with at
least one child or cat planted squarely in front of them critiquing the entire
process. If the door somehow gets locked
before the invasion occurs, there will be fingers or paws (or in my case, both)
stuck under the door repeatedly until the event comes to its conclusion. Sometimes there is musical accompaniment if
the doorstop is found.
Then there’s the ability of a creature that weighs anywhere
between ten pounds and a hundred pounds making adults everywhere suddenly
question the structural integrity of their homes just by moving rapidly from
one location to another. If there are
stairs involved, there is real danger of home décor randomly leaping off the
walls and shelving. If there are more
than one of said creatures moving in tandem, chances are a local Richter Scale
is alarming some poor soul tasked with monitoring geological threats.
As mentioned earlier, there are some distinct differences
between raising children and raising cats.
Meal time is one instance that springs to mind. Feeding cats is a matter of shaking a food
container and getting out of the way of the stampede no matter what is being
offered as a meal. For added
entertainment, one may choose to hang around and watch as feline paws snake out
and grab dishes belonging to other animals in attempts to garner larger
portions. Feeding children generally
involves dragging reluctant bodies away from video games and television shows,
shooting down arguments about why this child doesn’t want to eat that vegetable
or why that child expects to have another meal prepared that is more to their
tastes, followed by refereeing repeated attempts to sneak the healthy parts of
entrees onto the other child’s plate while claiming to have finished everything
themselves.
Bathing techniques is another area that differs greatly
between children and cats. When cats are
involved, the process is almost guaranteed to start and finish within five
minutes. The occupants of the home are
informed that a feline needs a bath and the smart occupants quickly vacate the
premises. The cat is introduced to a
couple of inches of water, much splashing and screaming ensues from all parties
involved, the cat either escapes or the human restraining the cat decides
personal preservation is more important than a clean feline, and bath time is
ended. When children are involved, the
process is almost guaranteed to drag out over a few hours. The occupants of the home are informed that a
child needs a bath or shower and the child in question quickly goes into fits
of denial. Eventually the child is
introduced to the combination of soap and water, much splashing and offkey
singing ensues, the child runs out of soapy water or the house runs out of hot
water, and bath time is ended.
When one has had all they can take of children or cats
running rampant throughout the vacinity, confining them to one area differs
according to species as well. There are
a couple of techniques that work well for cats, ranging from using catnip as
bait to get them into a room with a door that closes to picking them up by the
scruff of their necks and dropping them unceremoniously into a sufficiently
sized kennel. Rather than using catnip,
I have found that turning on electronics in an isolated location of the home is
the method of choice for keeping children in one place for extended periods of
time.
So, as you can see, the phrase “like herding cats” is
actually pretty accurate when applied to children. Just remember, however, that while there are
many similarities in how both are raised, society still tends to frown
disapprovingly when children are shoved into kennels, no matter how much they
may have earned it.