Felines, meet The Toddler

When we were in Ohio, Elle was in heaven - every where she went, there were cats. She warmed up to each place by crooning "Kittykittykitty" as she chased cats from room to room in her new environments.

Some of the cats were more patient than others. Really, I'm shocked that any feline doesn't bolt the minute the Toddler Tornado excitedly approaches. She's well-intentioned, but I'd imagine her enthusiasm and disregard for personal space would be a little much for any animal.

Elle was giddy in Ohio as she tried to track down my sister's shy cat, Ginger,
and instead found Millie, who is full of attitude and disdain for small people.

Elle inflicts her reign of terror on our two cats on a daily basis. Mario and Sidney were our first babies - I adopted them in 2005. They moved from Pittsburgh to Florida with me, and frankly, I think Mario prefers Tim over me, while Sidney doesn't care who loves on him as long as someone is loving on him. They had quite a bit of adjusting to do as we reorganized the condo in preparation for Elle's arrival, including all of the new furniture that entered our home, but they had no idea what was coming.

When we brought Elle home from the hospital, the cats discussed their options.

For the first few months of Elle's life, the cats seemed OK with her presence. Sure, she sounded like some sort of tortured farm animal when she cried, but aside from raised ears, they were fine.

But then she got mobile, and it was a game changer. They watched her pull herself across the floor, roll, reach and scoot in new ways with alarming speed. When she started to walk, they could do nothing but watch her toddle and wobble toward them. As she became increasingly interactive with them, I noticed their black and white coats became heavily speckled with gray hairs.

Life has changed a lot for these cats - two animals that Elle absolutely adores. Mario, our slightly older cat, has responded pretty much the way we would have expected: He tries to avoid Elle, and if she's too overeager or overly affectionate, he'll tense up and sometimes swat at her. We try to redirect her when she's headed toward Mario, because he's definitely our more aggressive cat.

Fortunately for us, Mario usually tries to keep his distance from her:

Sidney is our shy guy. While Mario has always been the dominant cat and has reacted as expected,  Sidney has completely surprised us with his interactions with Elle. He lets her pet and poke him, sits patiently (although with a slightly terrified look in his eyes) as she tries to cuddle up with him, and he doesn't bolt when she tries to follow him from room to room. I figured Sid would be the one to hide under furniture the minute Elle walked in to a room, but he's great with her, and she absolutely loves him. Luckily, the attempts at tail-pulling have been pretty minimal, because I think that would be Sidney's last straw.

In the last few months, Elle has started up conversations with the cats or made funny comments to them. The chats crack me up, but she and the cats remain unfazed.

* Coming home after being at the sitter's house: "Hi Mario, what's up?"

Attempting to bond with Mario.

* Announcing Sidney's migration down the hall: "Here he comes!"

* Elle tried to push a popsicle on Sidney. She also tried to blow his nose with a tissue. She's tried to give him "a bottle" by offering him some Afrin.

Loving on Sid.

* Elle and I took Mario to the vet, and Elle was extremely concerned about Mario, so she started doing sympathy meows in the car.

* General battle cry: "I'm going to getchoo!"

* Talking to Sid as he moves from room to room: "Oh Sid, come here."

* Trying to give Sidney treats:

* Petting Sidney (who always seems to be desperately craving attention): "Sidney booooyyyyy ... Sidney Sidney Sidney."

* In the last week or two, poor Sidney has been renamed "Cindy." Elle now goes around looking for "Cindy" and saying "Cindy, those are MY toys!" She also put Sid in time out yesterday for not listening (this from the girl who has been in time out twice in her life). I fear Sid will experience an identity crisis if Elle continues the "Cindy boy!" calls.

Poooooor Cindy.