Stinky Sox

 In June around Father’s Day my sister brought my Dad a kitten.  He was tiny and adorable and not asked for, but was received anyway.  My husband who has been fighting severe allergies was sent over the deep end, and his pills stopped working.  The kitten was an un-neutered male…full of hormone filled dander!  It was decided that we would do everything in our power to keep the cat downstairs for as long as possible while my husband prepared for allergy shots.  About a month and a half later the cat was neutered which improved the situation, and then shortly before my husband was to get his first shot young Stinky Sox jumped the upstairs wall.  We gave in and just kept our bedroom door closed most of the time.  After a month and a half worth of shots my husband doesn’t run from him and he even played with him the other night.  He is now a welcome addition to our little family.

 I suppose that I should explain his name, Stinky Sox…Casey named him.  There was much argument between her and Grandpa, but in the end Casey won out, I think it was the blue eyes!  Grandpa was of the opinion that his name should be just plain Sox, as it appears that he has white socks on his paws.  Casey was unwavering in her insistence that he was to be called Stinky Sox, one day she even told me “it’s Stinky Sox, that’s it, no more names!”.  From that day forward he has been Stinky Sox.

 Stinky Sox is a most unusual kitty; he doesn’t run from loud sounds, like the vacuum or the toilet flushing, instead he runs toward them.  He loves the children, especially the girl, but the boy is the one who picks him up and totes him around and takes him to Grandpa.  He plays with Mr Barkley…all the time!  He is almost delighted when Barkley runs by and he jumps out from wherever he is to attack his butt, then the inevitable chase starts.  Barkley’s wagging tail is completely irresistible for him.  His favorite day of the week is Monday when I clean the kid’s rooms and vacuum, because he follows me and the boy around getting into whatever it is that I have just cleaned or put away.  When I did the boy’s room this morning he was under the crib very fascinated by my changing of the sheet.  I opened one of his dresser drawers to put some clothes away and in he climbed and disappeared.  I left the drawer open, vacuumed and then did the loft…I came back and asked Barkley if he was still in the dresser.  Barkley stuck his head in the drawer to sniff and out came little black and white paws swiping at his ears…Barkley looked at me as if to say “yes mom, he is still in there”. 

 Recently Casey has been expressing that she is lonely when going to sleep at night, so we have been borrowing Stinky Sox to keep her company while she goes to sleep, then I let him out when I check on her before I go to bed.  He is a very social kitty and really doesn’t like to be left alone either, so it works out.  He also catches and kills lizards, a really helpful thing to do when you live in the desert.  As a matter of fact that is how he won me over; he rescued me from a lizard in the garage when no one else would.  Men are absolutely useless when it comes to this; they stand there and say “it’s only an itty bitty lizard, what is the problem?” and then they walk off and leave you alone to fight the beast by yourself.  I went and got the cat and he saved me!

 Young Stinky joins us when we bathe; he circles the edge of the tub while I wash the kids.  He also likes to sit in the window over my tub while I lay and read or get warm.  I have even rubbed him down with warm wet hands and he still comes back for more.  I think he loves my garden tub almost as much as I do!  As I got out last night my husband got out the blow dryer to play with the boy and he blew it at Stinky and all he did was sniff at the air.

 Stinky Sox has become a part of our daily routine and lives, and I would dare to say that we would all miss him if he were gone.  He comes to Casey’s room at night and I don’t even have to go find him anymore, if he isn’t there when I get into the tub I wonder where he has gone to, and my dear Mr B wouldn’t ever eat again without him around.  You see, Barkley won’t eat his food until Stinky has eaten his fill first.  He has become a necessity now that he has crawled into our hearts and lives; even my husband who acts so tough would be distraught without him around, no matter what he says.

 Here’s to you Stinky!  May you live long and eat many lizards…just don’t bring them in my house!