I've enjoyed reading the comments about cats so much. My husband is actually
the cat person of the family, although our daughter likes to have one sleep
with her.

My husband is very good at keeping babies and toddlers happy. He said that he
learned about babies from his experience with cats. The first cat he brought
home was named Garlic. (My screen name is from when he began to call me
Becklic because I was almost as nice as Garlic.)

My husband's belief is that kittens that are given lots of affection when
they are young are *better* cats and are *people cats*. We also gave our
daughter lots of attention and she is a good kid (although we are
prejudiced). Garlic was about ten weeks old when Jeff (my husband) brought
him home.

One of the cats we have now, Cardamon, thinks Jeff is *Mama*. The cat asks to
be picked up and *nurses* (an appropriate word, maybe) on Jeff's beard, which
gets his beard pretty damp. Cardamon did not have the nurturing kittenhood
that Garlic did.

When working with inexperienced parents, I ask them whether they have any
pets. Especially if they have an indoor cat, I tell them Jeff's idea that
babies are similar to cats in some ways. Babies and cats are about the same
size. Both may seem sort of floppy and need to be held supportively. However,
babies need to be held close and fed (preferably with Mom's milk), not have
the food put on the floor or a counter.

Becky Engel