The Insane Family Next Door

The cat people have had all kinds of advise. How to get cats to get along, how to stop kittens from biting. They've been helpful.

The head of all the Cat People told me to make a shrill high pitched noise when the kitten/kittens did something wrong. Cats hate that noise, she assured me.

Well, as far as I know, pretty much every living thing hates that noise so its not surprising that kittens don't like it either.

As insane as I felt, I tried out this shrill sound when faced with biting and or fighting behavior. It actually works.

So when the new kitten, or opossum, and the current kitten, or spawn of Satan, began having all out battles I tried to halt the behavior with a sudden and shrill sound. It works. No matter how engaged they are in tearing one another's flesh and ripping out clumps of fur, when they hear the horrible shrill sound they spring from one another. Their eyes widen with horror. They no longer think about the other kitten. Right now its all about survival, and getting away from the horrible sound.

The kids now know that if the kittens fight they should make the horrible sound. They are very good at making horrible sounds so this comes naturally to them.

Every few minutes shrill sirens of noise erupt. The kittens break apart. The kids are pleased with the fact that their horrible sounds help the situation. The kids are pleased that they are allowed to make horrible and shrill and loud sounds without being told to stop.

Our house is much louder than it was before.

I've long wondered how much of the screaming and shrieking our neighbor is privy to. I've wondered if she has contemplated calling CPS when she hears me screaming. I've wondered if she realizes that special needs kids don't sleep, and they are very loud. I wonder if she realizes that some of all of that screaming simply comes with the territory. I wonder how many times she hears me yell
"STOP IT!"
and wonders why I keep saying the same thing over and over.

But now I wonder about more than just the yelling and noise. I wonder if she contemplates moving simply because we seem to be a family of bats.