Bad Mom

How often is too often to blog about your cat?   I try not to overload the blog with my freakishly ugly/cute cat, but sometimes I need something to talk about...ya know, blog fodder?

So my sphynx cat, Rasputin, is currently my only child.  [Totally off subject, I am really digging the name "Khaleesi" for a girl's name.  Too much Game of Thrones? I think not!) Anyway, my Lil' Pooper, Rasputin is a terrible, terrible child.  Due to his ill-natured temperament, I am often finding myself doing things that may make me a bad "cat mom".

For example, his breed requires that he be thoroughly bathed once a week.  Well, my catty HATES baths.  He screams and claws and whines, like you would expect a cat to do.  So I only give him a bath when I am expecting company or once a month.

The place where traumatizing cat baths occur.

Due to him not having any fur to protect his skin, my cat is more susceptible to skin irritation caused by the sun, AKA sunburn.  Aww!  Rasputin loves to look outside at the buses and people roaming through our backyard, and in doing this he is often sitting in direct sunlight for an hour or two at a time.  The top of his little head and ears get red.  When I remember, I put some SPF 80 on these places, but I don't always remember.  I hope this doesn't spur medical problems in his future. :(

I think the worse thing that I do is let him get away with things he should not be doing.  I should be guiding him in the proper ways that a nice catty should act, and I am so not doing this.  At first, I didn't want him on the kitchen counters, because ew.  I would yell at him, spank him, look at him all mean-like, etc. whenever he did this.  I don't think he feels pain like a normal cat, because he didn't respond to my spankings.  He did however, loudly (and heart-breakingly) respond to my boyfriend gnawing on his tail.  Unfortunately, my boyfriend isn't around during the day, so I have to be the disciplinarian most of the time and I just can't will myself to gnaw on my kitty.  (Haha. See how I did that??).  My point is that I've given up on teaching him that climbing on the kitchen counters and cabinets is wrong.  I'm just going to let him be bad because it's easier than raising him to be a good cat.

From high up in his kitchen cabinet command post, Rasputin stares at me while I work.  It's quite unsettling.

I think the worst thing that I do by him is not give him the amount of attention he desires.  His breed is very social, and he spends hours a day walking around our apartment, meowing his little hairless heart out, calling out to be socially stimulated.  I am ashamed to say that I am often too busy to provide him with an adequate play session a lot of the time.  However! We plan on getting him a little dog friend soon, and Pooper *loves* other animals, so I hope this will help with the incessant meowing.  Until then, we'll both suffer. Together. :)