All The Kid™ Wants For Christmas Is...A Cat

Since the moment that she was able to talk, The Kid™ has intermittently been interested in one thing in particular - getting a kitty cat of her very own. Last year, when I was illustrating some pieces for a benefit auction for the local Humane Society, she became obsessed with my cat drawing in particular. The picture was based on a photo I had taken of a cat at the shelter that went by the name of Dulce, so from there on out, Dulce has been the name of The Kid's™ fictitious cat.

The original Dulce

Now, it doesn't matter what breed of cat she sees. Be it in magazines, on TV or walking around the neighborhood, any cat, tuxedo, Siamese, Calico or whatever is her cat, Dulce. She'll be sitting in the car as we're driving to school, and she'll start talking about her cat, Dulce. We'll be at the grocery store, and she'll excitedly and randomly tell the cashier about her cat, Dulce. And, when talking with her grandparents, for whom English is not their first language, she'll talk about her cat, Dulce.

This is where it gets fun.

See, her grandparents, my in-laws, hate cats. With a burning passion. I'm unclear as to why, exactly, though The Wife™ says that it's partially due to some old Chinese superstitions, among other reasons, but that's neither here nor there. They dislike cats, period.

They come and stay with us in California for several months every winter. When we bought our house, they kicked in to allow us to get one that's big enough for us all to co-habitate relatively comfortably for that yearly stretch, so they also get some say in certain household matters. Like whether or not there's a cat living here.

The Kid™, of course, understands none of this. All she knows is that her cat, Dulce, is not in her house with her. So, a few months back, she decided to talk to Granddad about this on the phone. And she mixed in a little bit of Christmas wish-list small talk at the same time.

And Granddad didn't really understand everything that was coming out of the hyper toddler's mouth.

And Granddad inadvertently agreed that, of course, he was going to get The Kid™ a cat for Christmas.

And The Kid™ has remembered this and mentioned this fact at least once a week, if not more, ever since.

When Grandmom was told about the situation, a few weeks after it happened and it had become apparent that this wasn't a passing phase, she was none too pleased. She gave Granddad an earful, and he, sheepishly, tried to weasel his way out of it, telling The Wife™ that they'd get their granddaughter a toy cat and that would make everything better. Of course, those of us that live in a toddler-run house on a fulltime basis know better. Thus, we've been prepping ourselves for some massive fireworks come Christmas morning.

Enter the FurReal Friends robotic cat.

We came across this beauty 2 weeks ago whilst doing a little pre-holiday shopping, and immediately, The Kid™ declared that this was Dulce. So, a week or so later, The Wife™ dropped into the local Target and grabbed one, and let her parents know that we may have - MAYBE - saved their hash.

This thing is actually pretty lifelike, in that way that appeals to little kids and their imaginations while simultaneously annoying and freaking out grown-ups. The cat responds to motion and touch, moves it's head, blinks, and all that good stuff. Apparently, it also rolls over in your lap, or something, and asks to be petted just like a real cat, so here's hoping that it sates our daughter's burgeoning desire to be a cat person for at least the next year, at which point I'm fairly certain Granddad will inadvertently agree to some new Christmas or birthday gift that is equally problematic.

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