Reply #23: I talk trash about my cats, but I do love them.

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We have two cats: Mephisto is a black rag-doll we found in the parking lot of our apartment about 7 years ago. Behemoth is an orange tabby we got to keep Mephisto company when we were on campus all day.

Behemoth is the one I call a little shit. He plays with water every chance he gets; he's spilled so many drinks, I've lost count. He hates everybody but KCDem and me. Often, when you come across him, he gives you a sly look and slinks away, like he was doing something he shouldn't have been. If he's in a tile-floored room with one little patch of carpet, he never fails to puke on the carpet. I don't know how he'd act around the kids, really. He runs whenever they approach. He's a clown, though, and really funny to watch. He likes to hang out in the bathtub. Once, there was bathwater still in it, and he jumped in. We heard a "MWROWR!" and saw him streak across the floor, soaking wet, to hide under the couch. He gives little kitty massages on your arms and neck.

Mephisto is the gentlest cat I have ever met. I have seen a dozen little kids pile on him, and he just sits and purrs. Our kids have mistreated him, pulled his hair and whiskers, pulled his tail, and he's never snapped at them. I sometimes wish he would. When he's had enough, he goes and hides for a while, but his tolerance for toddler torture is amazingly high. Our 4-year-old now knows how to treat him properly. Our 2-year-old still pulls his fur, yet we often find him curled up, asleep in her crib with her.