"Ah, my little darling, it is love at first sight, is it not, no?"
Estelle is completely obsessed with Darwin, poor kitty. She wraps him up in blankets, carries him under the arms all over the house, and "pets" him, which in fact means she puts him in a virtual stranglehold on her lap. I keep telling her he's super stressed out since he sheds like crazy, his pupils dilate and he starts to pant like a dog. She's cheerfully oblivious to his discomfort, and pronounces, "Mommy, Darwin loves me SO much!" The other day, I caught her picking him up to place him in her doll cradle.
He keeps coming back for more though -- occasionally, she does pet him gently so I guess that's enough for him to assume the risk.
Late Feb UPDATE: Darwin finally had enough. I heard a scream followed by crying the other day...
Me: What happened?
E: (Wailing) Darwin bit me! He bit my hand.
(Inspecting, I see two tooth marks that didn't puncture the skin. I conclude it's a warning shot.)
Me: Oh honey. You know how when you have big feelings, you can talk to mommy and daddy about them? Darwin can't talk, so when he has big feelings, the only way he can tell us is by biting or scratching.
E: (More wailing -- clearly feeling rejected)
I felt for her little broken heart, but it was a good lesson learned. She's definintely toned down the treatment. Now she'll tell me, "Mommy, Darwin's real stretched [stressed] out right now. He's having huge, big feelings." I count it as a win.
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