Sergeant Sassy Pants

Sergeant Sassy Pants is THE MOST DRAMATIC KITTEN I have ever encountered. She absolutely HATES everything on first contact, and will tell you about that in no uncertain terms. For the first time in my fostering career I almost thought I would have to find a new placement for a foster kitten. I was sure she was miserable here. But Sassy Pants just complains about everything. Once I stopped panicking and accepted (and ignored) her grumbles and growls, I discovered that she is actually quite a love bug.

Sassy Pants loves to catch me when I am on my computer. If she's feeling playful, she'll help me type by attacking my fingers. Sometimes she'll just sit in front of me and give me kitten kisses. She also likes to watch my screen if I'm working with videos. But usually she will settle on my feet or in my lap.

I have an artist friend who sends me his drawings. He tries to draw daily and sent me what he says was a quick sketch. Sergeant was, of course, in my lap when his message came in. It was too perfect, so I sent him a picture back. Then I asked him to add some blobs on the nose and chin.

My friend is a fortune teller! His quick sketch is a treasure!

Even though Sassy Pants is quite fond of me and a sweetheart, she has not lost her sense of drama. She still grumbles at the slightest provocation. She grumbles even if you don't provoke her. I took her for her first vaccine appointment yesterday (11/20/21) and she shocked me by submitting to her vaccination without a complaint. At least not a noisy complaint. We cracked up when she sat on the table, holding her injured paw in the air with a look of complete indignation. I caught her briefly with her leg up before she was attacked by a second needle, this one much bigger as she got microchipped. Again, she surprised me with a mild (for her) reaction. She'll fuss more if someone gets within 2 feet of her food dish. She napped when we got home, then got up and played for awhile. Hours later she noticed me looking at her and trying to take pictures... so she holds up her paw, the picture of pain and suffering. Ahhhhhhh..... my little drama llama. I love her!

Update 11/28/21
As a foster mom, I try to raise kittens that are well socialized and ready for any home. But the emotional side of me hopes Sassy Pants never changes and will just find the perfect home that accepts her sassitude completely. I absolutely LOVE her. I love to be a kitten climbing 'tree. Sergeant Sassy Pants loves it when I'm in a seated position. She'll play on my shoulders and head until it's nap time. Then she loves to lay on my arms, which are usually bent to do computer work, so she sits her butt on my forearm and leans against my upperarm, snuggling in to purr contentedly. Can't get a picture of it because she's got me trapped in that position... which makes all my blogging, data entry, poster making, bill paying, and the other things I'm always doing on my computer very slow.

As a public educator, I put in long hours at work because I love my students and want to help them. I'm often one of the first in the parking lot and one of the last out. But I try very hard to leave work at work and bring nothing home. But the amount of work this year is so overwhelming I brought home a ton of files to work on over the Fall Break. Sassy thought this was GREAT, as computer time is her favorite time. I sent every report draft out to the parents, teachers, and admin with the disclaimer that I had help and begged them to please let me know if they saw any of her typos I missed so I could correct them for the final draft. Honestly, report writing was never quite this pleasant... or challenging. Sassy sat with me the ENTIRE time.

But Sassy doesn't just share my appreciation for a strong work ethic. I try to be very professional at work (in my actions, not my outfits) but in my personal life I'm very playful and focus on fun. I'm 46 years old, no kids, but have a room FULL of stuffed animals and toys. I had to buy a bigger bed so my husband could have some space among the mountains of plushies. Sassy LOVES my plushie pile. She loves to sleep on them, bury in them, and play with them.

Sassy discovered the cat wheel, which we call the "Pig Wheel", since our cat, Pigwidgeon, uses it more than anyone. But lately, any time she hears the sound of the Pig Wheel, Katsu has to come and check it out... which makes it hard for tiny Sergeant Sassy Pants to use.

Sergeant doesn't care much for the dogs, but she is very food motivated so she does tolerate them if she has a goal in sight.

Food does tend to bring out the sassy side of her, though. She's getting a lot better about her regular meals, but treat time is still loaded with drama. She will try to convince anyone listening that she has NOT EATEN IN DAYS and is SURE TO PERISH IF YOU DEPRIVE HER OF A SINGLE BITE!!! But, she isn't actually food aggressive. She will guard what she considers her own, but even when she's claiming her food with her paws, she has never used her claws and hurt me. The only hurts me if I am trying to hand feed her at a rate she deems to be too slow... and she mistakes my fingers for food... not intentional, but she chomps her food pretty vigorously!

I really thought I was going to be done for the day, but Sassy stole a toy from the adoption wash bin when I brought it home for cleaning. I think I've taken over 10 minutes of video of her, playing keep away with this toy. She was growling even when completely alone. At one point, while carrying it all over plushie mountain on the bed, she turned and saw Pua the Pig stuffed animal next to her and she freaked out, convinced the pig was going to take her toy. We've already decided this poof ball must go in her gift basket home... as long as we can keep the dog from eating it.

Update 12/24/21

My husband won't let me keep Sassy, which is such a shame because I'm uniquely suited to understand her, being slightly dramatic as well. I love everything about this little ball of fluff. She seems pretty attached to me as well. She always finds me for snuggles and cuddles. She is sick right now, we're not sure what is happening but she has a leaky bottom. So she has to wear this diaper when she's out of her kennel, which she kind of hates, but all she does when she's out of her kennel is beg for snuggles.