Arianne, you may not want to read this one

Ben's evil gene has finally kicked in. No cat in the household is safe from his attempts at torture. His aim is horrible, so most toys hurled in their direction miss. And Crookshanks is smart enough to just stay out of his way. She spends most of the day sleeping under our bed. However, Minnie is such an attention whore and apparently has no self esteem that she consistently submits herself to Ben's torment. He has pulled her off chairs by her fur, he pushes her down to the floor to use her as a pillow, he tries to pick her up by her feet, and she takes it. It's ridiculous. She doesn't have front claws so she can't fight back very effectively, but she did bite him one time and I had absolutely no sympathy. He totally deserved it and yet it didn't deter him at all. I spend most days at home yelling, "Don't throw things at the cat! Be nice to her!"

What's so vexing is that whenever we meet an animal at the park, or when we spend time with relatives' dogs, he's perfectly fine. He pets them gently and that's the end of it. Maybe it's a quasi-sibling thing. You're nicer to strangers than to your own family. Hopefully this isn't a clue as to what's to come when Ben eventually gets a sibling. Though considering how Ian and I fought as kids, I'll probably deserve whatever they dish out. Karma's a bitch.

Cat scratch fever

A rare picture with both cats. Crooks is white. Minnie is dark.

We have two cats who pre-date Ben, Minerva (Minnie) and Crookshanks (Crooks). When we first got them almost three years ago, Crooks was the outgoing one. She would cuddle up to anyone and she was always around. She was more like a dog than a traditional cat. Minnie was the princess. You had to pick her up and pet her on her terms, lest you receive an arm full of scratches as she scampered away. So, as you can imagine, I was more worried about Minnie's reaction to the baby.

However, a very curious thing happened when we brought Ben home: Minnie and Crooks switched personalities. Now Minnie is the friendly, social one. She still wants things her way, but she's willing to let it slide a bit if you'll pet her. During the day, though, Crooks is nowhere to be found. She only emerges for mealtimes and after Ben's gone to bed. People make her skittish.

The most surprising thing is that Minnie actually interacts with Ben. I was not expecting that at all. The first time Pat and Beth brought Colin to our house, when he was no more than three or four months old, Minnie totally freaked out. She hissed at him and then spent the rest of the day hiding under our bed. Now she willingly rubs up against Ben and even tolerates it when he grabs her fur and ears. I guess any attention is better than none when you're desperate. But she's in for a surprise once he can walk.