I am horribly allergic to cats. Within five minutes of being around one I start to sneeze, my throat starts to close, and my eyes swell up. This is why we have a hypoallergenic dog. Annie doesn’t seem to have the same allergy, thank goodness. But since she’s usually with me, she doesn’t see cats…ever. A few days ago Annie and I were with my mom and her friend, and we stopped by their friend’s house. Annie walked into the house and proceeded to freak out that she was in the presence of a real live cat. She wanted to give that cat a full-body hug. Of course, being a cat, it just wanted to stare at her ambivalently.
My eyes are still swollen from being around that cat.
A says:
I love her.
And the excitement when the cat finally plays? Awesome.
(I’m allergic too, and yet we’ve almost always had a cat in my house.)
Becca Masters says:
I love when the cat joins in with the ball!!!
Janette says:
My friend is also severely allergic to cats, and was able to get a super fluffy hypoallergenic cat. I just thought I’d let you know those existed in case you’re interested in taking this fun home with you.
RzDrms says:
So CUTE!
(“These prices are *rock bottom!*” That was fun, listening to the ladies in the background!)
Jenn says:
What a little Sweetheart!!!! Love Her!!
Lisa says:
Adorable. I love how happy it makes her with the kitty finally joins in.
Elizabeth says:
So cute!!
Maybe you could get a hairless cat
Evelyn says:
This video wins the Internet.
Evelyn says:
This video wins the Internet. So damn cute. Also Annie saying, “turning, turning”? Smartest toddler ever.
Desera says:
too cute! Love this video! new favorite
Shannon says:
Lol…everyone in this family BUT me is allergic to cats… Love the video!
Barbi Emel says:
She’s so sweet, love her!
Erin says:
Annie, of course, is adorable. But I must say that I’m more impressed by the cat. Neither of my cats would be willing to stay in the same room as a small child, let alone that close.
Vicky says:
Same with my cat!
Laura says:
My cats are great around kids. Really tolerant and they usually join in on the fun when the kid wants to play. My friend Jill is allergic too and brings her 3 yr old Audrey to our house to get her kitty fix. She loves her some kitties!
Kristabella says:
That is a brave ass cat! My cats will never come that close to my nieces or nephews. They see them coming and they run under the bed.
Trisha says:
Super allergic myself and yet we’ve adopted an outside stray that showed up on Christmas evening this past year.
So glad the cat finally played for Annie!!
Lisa says:
Love kittens! Being from the country in Arkansas, we have a momma cat with 5 little kittens that our grandchildren adore!
Amanda says:
Hello, I have been reading your blog for quite awhile but have never posted. I first heard about you right after Madeline went to heaven and have been reading ever since. I would read your blog every day at work. I was so happy for you when Annie was born and I have been watching her grow. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to keep up because I have had a child of my own in Febuary with a heart defect. I would remember your story and what you went through with Madeline. Everytime I see something about the March of Dimes or the color purple I think of your family. Annie is so grown now and it’s so wonderful to hear her talk. Thank you so much for sharing your story. My daughter Bella is now 4 month old and has had 2 open heart surgeries. She is doing very good and I know the two are definitely unrelated, but I still thought about you and you helped me get through it.
AD says:
Seriously, this is all sorts of awesome. I love how her enthusiasm remains high even though the cat just sits and stares at her (as cats do).
Megan says:
I love cats! I’m glad Annie is getting exposed at a young age.
I kept waiting for the cat to reach out and smack her hand, and I’m glad it did not!
Christina says:
OK first of all…where did this little grown up come from?!?!? Not sure if it’s the outfit (which…hello…adorable!) or what, but she is getting SO big. Secondly…the throwing of the blue thing = HILARIOUS. She’s like “Uh…I don’t understand why you’re not fetching. Hmmmm.” And lastly, thank god that cat finally threw her a bone and batted at the ball. haha. As always lots of love to the Spohr crew.
Leah says:
I love all your videos of Annie. She was determined to get the cat to play with her. She is so cute!
Meg says:
Absolutely adorable! The look on Annie’s face when the cat plays is priceless. Hope she never loses that excitement.
I’m not allergic to cats, though they do make me a little nervous . . . we used to cat-sit for a neighbor when I was a kid, and his cat never really took a shine to me. After quite a few scratches and hisses over the years, I started to dread going over there! And now cats scare me a bit. Trying to get over it, especially since my boyfriend loves them!
Carrie says:
Love that the cat finally humored her.
We just spent a week with my parents who have two cats. The cats did NOT like my kids, but still followed them around everywhere, just so they could keep an eye on what the kids were up to. Cats crack me up. The one in this video is particularly awesome!
Procrastamom says:
That cat is the perfect doppelganger of our cat! Either that or our Pizza Maria recently took a vacation to California.
Lissa says:
As a longtime cat lover (and always cat owner) and someone who works in the veterinary field I am amazed that cat sat there so quietly and patiently all of that time!
Also, tons of kudos to you and Mike for teaching her such patience, restraint, and gentleness to animals. Annie was so calm and quiet and careful around that kitty – for a 2 year old AND someone who hasn’t every really been around cats, it’s incredible! Watch out when she’s school age and dragging home orphaned animals she finds outside.
As a side note, my mom is allergic to animals, the outdoors in general, and DUST. Since she was doomed no matter what, she gave in and always took allergy meds and we had all the animals we ever wanted.
But if you ever want a naked cat, I can hook you up. They are freaky and soft and super cute in a creepy kind of way. And they can inherit old “clothes” of Rigby’s!
Susan says:
OMG, you have one seriously adorable little girl.
Kay says:
I feel your pain- I’m terribly allergic too. It’s great that Annie isn’t allergic though, and even better that she’s so good with the cat! I like cats, so I’ve always been jealous of people who can spend time with the creatures without the feeling their head will explode.
Speaking of which, does anyone know of a good allergy medicine I can use for two weeks when I visit my cat-owning friends in London? I’d really like to not spend the time sneezing/wheezing/passing out if I can avoid it.
meoskop says:
Who are these people that can handle being around cats just by taking allergy meds? Why can’t I be them so my cat loving kids can have one? Heather, like you I start to wheeze & my eyes swell shut in a short period of time.
@ Kay – Allegra D 12 hour works for me in that I feel like I have a bad flu but I don’t end up outside on the inhalers.
Annalisa says:
My daughter’s like that around dogs. We have two kitties that she loves/terrorizes a lot (more on that below), but really her heart belongs to the very sweet and well natured pit bull mix in the apartment across the way. Whenever she sees her in the hallway, she goes “doggy!” and reaches for her.
The cats are pretty much diametrically opposite on how they act with my daughter. My princessy kitty likes to observe my daughter from the safety of the top of the couch, and is very curious about everything she does, but never enough to join in. My clumsy orange fluffball likes my daughter, and pretty much allows her to heap abuse on him in the guise of pets. She thinks his name is “Nice” because I used to tell her “Be nice to the kitty” when she’d start pulling his tail. He does eventually get tired of her abuse and flees the room, but what do you know, 15 minutes later he’s right back at it. I think he’s gotten it into his head that it’s his responsibility to socialize her to cats.
jennifer says:
My princessy kitty likes to observe my daughter from the safety of the top of the couch, and is very curious about everything she does, but never enough to join in.
Smoochagator says:
Oh my goodness! She is too adorable. My son loves our kitties, but only one of them will come near him.