Before Honeybun, hubby and I had two other babies. Monk and Frank: our kitty babies.
We acquired Monk (short for Monkey though her proper name is Lexie) our senior year of college. One of hubby’s fraternity brothers had brought her back to school with him but was unable to keep her in his on-campus apartment. Since hubby and I were living off campus we took her to help him out. She was just a tiny little thing (her head smaller than the end of my pointe shoes) and we fell in love immediately. Obviously, we never gave her back and she has since lived with us in 2 different countries, 3 different states and in 9 different houses. She’s a feisty little booger who has never been too affectionate unless it’s on her terms!
When I was pregnant with Honeybun, Monk was not a fan of me, especially at the end. She would not come near me and sometimes even hissed if I tried to approach her. She did fine with me when I was pregnant with Sugarplum and has been extra protective this pregnancy though I think as we get closer to D-Day (deliver day, that is), she is starting to act a little funny.
Monk hated the girls at first but is growing tolerant of them. She sometimes even lets Honeybun and Sugarplum gently pet her on the head if they are extra special quiet and don’t move too suddenly. Mostly though she’s still just a mommy and daddy’s girl, she’s very territorial and often hisses and swats at visitors. It takes a long time for her to get used to people and doesn’t really accept lovings from anyone but hubby and me.
Our younger cat, Frank (short for Franklin) was a rescue cat we got while living in Oklahoma. The lady we adopted him from told us he would never amount too much and would probably just hide all the time. Turns out he is the most affectionate cat I’ve ever known though he is still wary of strangers. Sometimes if our guests are sitting down he will make an appearance after a few hours (once he’s more familiar with the voices) and will take nice touches from nearly anybody once he’s comfortable.
Pregnancy has never changed Frank, he has remained a solid fan of nice touches though he has been much more weary of the girls than Monk. He spent most of Honeybun’s babyhood hiding and just when he got used to her we moved to Dublin. Frank and Monk had to be “quarantined” in the states for 6 months before joining us in Ireland so we waited to have them brought over until after Sugarplum was born. All the progress we made with Honeybun was ruined and Frank went back into hiding. He is now tolerant of the girls and will gladly take nice touches when they are calm and quiet.
Only time will tell what reaction baby #3 will have on the cats but I hope they continue to be a loving part of our family for years to come.
