And as I write this, there is a big puppy wanting attention too.

I am convinced that the new kitten Jack was a dog in a past life. He is obssessed with the little plastic balls with the bells in them. When I brought some home from Wal-Mart the other day, he could hear them in the bag and he was practically begging me to get them out. Today, I picked one up in front of him and held it up the way you would do for a dog who loves to play fetch. He just about went nuts until I rolled it across the floor so he could chase after it. He will even pick them up with his mouth and carry them to wherever he wants to go. He's playing with one right now and will probably be at it for a long time going from one end of the house to the other.

In less than a week he has come to act like he runs the household. He's already used to the dogs and has even allowed them to sniff him some, and he hasn't hissed at them in a couple of days. As for Prissy, he ignores her in favor of playing, and she hisses at him if he comes within a few feet of her, though she has gotten more relaxed than the first day he was here.

Jack is an extremely sweet kitten. He loves to be picked up, and he'll reach out and paw at my face or neck (with his claws retracted so as not to scratch me), almost like he wants to give me a hug. He's very cuddly, playful, and a very good tempered cat. When he's not playing, he's a very mellow cat and sort of stretches out on his side. For being only eight months old he's already mastered getting underneath my feet and rubbing up against my legs while I'm trying to walk. I suspect his plans for world domination will come to fruition soon enough.

His first night here, he slept next to the kiddo, even placing a paw over him while he slept. It was adorable, and he's very gentle when he's playing. For a kitten I was expecting to have a few scratches and nips by now, but the only time I've had a claw get me is when he got startled by one of the dogs while I was holding him. He seems to instinctively know when playing with me not to bite too hard or dig his claws into me. Not that I'm complaining, mind, just that I'm surprised.

Anytime I get up to tend to something, or even just to go to the bathroom, Jack will pop up from wherever he's been and follow me around. He's not very "talkative," but when he does "speak" he has the most pathetic mew I have ever heard. It's not very loud and he makes it sound as though he's on the brink of death. When I pick him up, or he's cuddling with me while I pet him, he purrs very loudly, and he'll close his eyes and look like he's smiling.

I'm having a hard time understanding why it was he was returned the first time he was adopted. About the only thing I can figure is that they had another cat that he may have harassed, and that sort of thing takes time to sort out between the cats as they figure out the pecking order. Oh well, their loss, our gain.

All right, there's other life stuff I should write about, and I probably will before the night is over. In the meantime, I have ordered Jack to cease being so devastatingly cute. He's not listening.

You know, some days I hate the internet...

I don't participate there much as I prefer to lurk, but I'm starting to think I should take the booj (aka booju_newju) off my f-list. Just today I've seen two posts about the "obesity epidemic" and what to do if your child is a Fat-Fat Fatty McFatterson (the horror!), followed by a post of "Let's pretend your daughter lied and said she was molested!" because you know that happens oh so much outside of Lifetime Television and Law & Order.

I don't think I'd be so annoyed and disappointed if I hadn't seen these same sorts of posts recycled over and over. I swear about once per month there's some sort of "So, this child/woman/slut lies about rape..." or "What if your son is 'trapped' by a big whore woman who gets pregnant?"* Seriously, I can't even bring myself to skim some of these posts and I just wait for them to end up in sf_drama where at least I can share my high blood pressure among like-minded individuals.

P.S.: If your first instinct is to respond with, "But, Jade, such and such does really happen! My buddy's cousin's roommate's, sister-in-law totally..." just stop and slap yourself on the back of the head and save me the trouble. You have missed the point, and as this is my turf, I can say I'm not up for talking about it here.

* = Look, I don't fucking care if the woman said she was on the pill, or the condom broke. If a man consents to sex, he has to accept that there is a chance - no matter how small - that his sperm might meet with the woman's egg and do a little dance that results in an embryo. If the woman chooses to carry to term, then he is responsible for child support. End. Of. Story. Don't like it? Then either don't fuck, get sterilized, or talk to your potential partner about what she wants to do in the event of an unintentional pregnancy. If her wishes don't jibe with yours, don't have sex. When men have to bear the burden of pregnancy and childbirth, then we can talk about what's "fair." Is that so fucking hard to understand?

Just wanted to say...

I'm going to start using this account more often, especially now that I've seen how wonderfully Dreamwidth is handling some trolls trying to hurt them financially. If only a certain other online journal service would take notes.

Thank you, Dreamwidth, for being level-headed and putting your customers first.