Well, we gave it a valiant try, a good 5 months of having a cat. Buttercup was just as sweet as you see in the pic above for 90% of the time, but the other 10% of the time when she was ready to play she just might jump on your head. For real! As she got older, she began to think it was more and more fun to jump on people, and when she jumped on Lydia she could easily get on her shoulders or near her face and bite. She was never angry, but even playful biting in scary.
A few weeks before we gave her back to the rescue group, I mentioned to EB that Buttercup might enjoy living on a farm better than our house. She had gotten to where she tried to rush outside the minute the door was opened.
The final straw happened the Saturday morning before we left for NCA.
Lydia woke up unbelievable early that morning. As soon as Buttercup heard people up, she started crying. So there we all were, in the den at 5 in the morning. Lydia was watching a show, and I was on the couch lying down. Buttercup had been sitting next to me on the couch but had jumped down and was sitting just below my head staring at me. I knew I should play with her or put her outside, but I was just so tired. The next I knew she had jumped on my head and bit me! It bled a teany tiny bit, but that was it for me. A few hours later, Graham saw Buttercup just jump on Lydia out of the blue and start batting at her.
We gave her back (along with a car full of all her stuff! We felt incredibly guilty at taking away the girls' pet, but the relief we felt and the anxiety that was lifted was worth it. The girls have been a bit sad and have asked for Buttercup some. EB even kept calling CC's dog Buttercup during our recent visit and said, "I just keep calling her Buttercup."
We've told the girls that when EB is 10, we'll think about getting a dog. Such is life.
