I hate my cat because he tried to kill me

So 2 months ago Yuri bit me - like BIT me - on my left index finger.

I must preface this by explaining what I was doing when he bit me.  I had just started working from home and had set my computer up at our dining table, which is near a large window.  I noticed that Yuri loved looking out that window because it overlooks our neighbors who have 2 cats that hang out in their front yard all day.  So in an effort to aid our kitty's viewing pleasure, I decided to build a "window seat" for him.  I put window seat in quotes because it was really just a stack of boxes on top of an unstable TV tray table.

The word "unstable" is key there because cats generally don't like being in any sort of unstable situation - especially when it comes to their footing.  When I picked up Yuri to place him atop my (what I thought was a) tower of window viewing prowess, the boxes slipped against each other and the TV tray table rocked back and forth under Yuri's feet and he flipped out.  Because I don't have cat-like reflexes I was still holding him while he try to lurch out of my arms and when I wouldn't let go fast enough he bit my finger.  I finally let him go.  He promptly ran down the stairs to our bedroom and under our bed (his usual safe room).

It was all over so fast, I don't remember it hurting much, but soon three little drops of blood formed on various parts of my finger, one on either side of my big second knuckle and a third up closer to my first knuckle.  I washed the wounds and cleaned them with rubbing alcohol and stuck some bandaids on.

The swelling didn't start until about 3 to 4 hours later when I went to my parents' house.  When my dad came home, I told him what happened and he proceeded to scare the crap out of me.  According to him, the two worst non-poisonous bites you can get in the world are from a fellow human or from a cat.  And if you get bit by a person or a cat, the worst possible place you could get bit on your body is at a joint.  Like a knuckle.

This is what it looked like that night.

Later that night, the bottom portion of my finger was literally the same width as a standard hot dog - if not a bona fide Aidells chicken & apple sausage. It also hurt because my skin was stretched out and I think one of the puncture wounds at hit the nerve on the inside of my knuckle.  My dad had instilled words like rabies, tetanus, bone infection, and amputation into my subconscious.

This also happened to occur the day after my health insurance expired, the 1st of April.  April Fools Day.  What a fool indeed.

The next day I went to go see a friend of my dad's - an internist in LA who didn't charge me a thing - who gave me a tetanus shot, a prescription for some powerful antibiotics, and a proper bandage.

It took about 5 days for the swelling to finally go away - and I was popping antibiotics every 8 hours for 10 days - but I'm totally fine now.  I got to keep the finger.   Thanks, kitty.

Odi et amo...*

This is the first post of my second brainchild blog, dedicated to my cat, Yuri - an 18-month old neutered Russian Blue we adopted from the pound 4 months ago.  He was found as a stray just before Christmas 2009, so we don't know a lot about his history.  If he were a scale, where on one side all of his positive traits were stacked and on the other side all of his negative traits were stacked - he'd come out about even.  I must admit that my relationship with Yuri (a.k.a. just plain "Kitty" when my husband & I talk to/about him at home) has changed immensely since I was laid off and have had to spend a LOT of time at home... with just him and me. All day. Just the two of us.

Let me start out by explaining how it came about that we (my then husband of just under a year and I) decided to get a pet.  Personally, I've always considered myself a dog person.  Although I've probably been an owner (or part-owner) of more cats than dogs in my life, I've had dogs for longer periods of time - most notably the two Jindo dogs I grew up with from 1988 to 2000.  And I loved those dogs, Licky & Annie, with much fiercer attachment than any cat I've ever owned.  My husband, on the other hand, although he too has had his fair share of both cats and dogs - seems to tend more towards cats. 

So whenever the subject of pets came up in those early months of our marriage, I'd always say how great dogs were and he'd always say how great cats were.  In the end, the conversation became solely about cats - not because my husband has more astute powers of persuasion, mind you.  But because of the simple facts that we were renting an apartment, had no yard, and - oh yeah - we weren't allowed to keep dogs.  So my husband would reminisce about his childhood family cat, Socks (incidentally my family had a cat - apparently with similar coloring - named Boots), go on and on about how cute cats were, and how easy it would be to care for a cat.  "They just do their own thing," I remember him saying on many occasions.  After several mentions, I began to get used to the idea of a cat - and since I've always prescribed to the more-the-merrier mentality - I started agreeing with my husband and finally chimed in one day, "OK, why don't we get a cat then?" 

That's when, for the first time in many years, I learned something new about my husband.  Apparently, when he thinks something's a good idea and meets resistance from me - the idea grows more attractive.  However, once I start to change my mind and finally agree with him.  Then, the idea (which was his to begin with!) becomes unattractive.  Extremely unattractive.  I'm sure there's a psychological/Freudian term for this... oh yeah, "Immaturity".
"Uhh, well maybe it's not such a good idea," was his response.  I sat there speechless.  Was this the same man who had been going on and on for weeks, even months, about how we should get a cat - how he LOVED cats - and that cats were the BEST pets??
"What do you mean, 'not a good idea'??" I challenged.
"Well, we should think this through.  I dunno..."
I almost lunged across the room to shake him, but quickly calmed myself.  Suffice to say, after much back & forth, we didn't get a cat until about 6-7 months later - on a cold morning in January, just after the new year, when I was at work and my husband called from the pet store to tell me that he'd just adopted the kitty we'd seen the weekend previous (and I'd really liked) and was getting a litter box and food before bringing him home.

So there's the whole history of why & how Yuri became part of our family.


*"Odi et amo" is Latin for "I hate and I love," and refers to a poem by Catullus to his lover, Lesbia (no jokes, please).  Many believe it refers to how passion in its most extreme form can so easily translate between the two emotions of love & hate - and this ambivalence becomes like a madness.