Bye Bye Wild Thing and Other News of the Week

Happy Friday morning, y’all! Just a quick Caterpickle this morning as The Five-Year-Old and I have a very important tea party to get to. It’s always…

“Daddyo, have you ever made people eat food and then listened to their tummies?”

After an evening of eating pizza, there was some tummy talk. The Four-Year-Old: “Daddyo, have you ever made people eat food and then listened to their tummies?” My husband: “No. But do you want to know what that sound is called?”

“Do white blood cells have white blood in them?”

Overheard in the playroom. The Four-Year-Old: “Daddyo, do white blood cells have white blood in them?” Daddyo: “No. Blood is made up of cells. Cells aren’t…

Sugar Does a Body Good

The Four-Year-Old, munching contentedly on a milk chocolate pumpkin: “Mommyo, do you know why Sproing Cats eat a lot of sugar?” Mother: “No.” The Four-Year-Old, licking…

close-up of a grey tabby showing the discharge from his eye.

“What’s that red stuff coming out of the cat’s eye?”

I know what you’re thinking. I can hear you from here. “For heaven’s sake, woman! Get that cat to a vet! Don’t sit around blogging about it!” And while in general I would agree with you, in this particular case, the red stuff in question was due to a previously diagnosed condition and not the result of an unfortunate Preschooler-Cat interaction. So, what is the red stuff coming out of my cat’s eye?

“Why is it called Fifth Disease?”

Fifth Disease is one of those deliciously mild childhood illnesses that nearly all of us get at one point or another, that are most contagious before any symptoms appear, and that clear up (in most cases) on their own. By the time the rash alerted me to the fact that my daughter was sick, she was back to feeling (mostly) great. But in all the shuttling to and from the doctor, she had plenty of time to ask questions, including “Why is it called Fifth Disease?” If Fifth Disease doesn’t win the prize for Most Literal Name in Medicine outright, it should at least be given an Honorable Mention.

“Why do I have to be clean?”

Preschooler, on bath night: “Why do I have to be clean?” Mother: “To stay healthy.” Preschooler: “Why?” Mother, hoping to move things along to a place…

“Why do pale people get more moles?” (Caterpickles consults the dermatologist)

The first time I went in for my now-annual skin check, the dermatologist found three moles that looked funny. So I had them taken off. My four-year-old was fascinated by this entire process, asking me countless questions about why people should have their skin checked, what the doctor is looking for, the difference between freckles and moles, and of course, whether it’s true pale people get more moles (not necessarily).

“Why can’t cats drink milk?”

When my daughter saw the Aristocats slurping happily at a bowl of cream, she naturally wanted to pour a bowl for our own cats. I had to shoot this down. Although our normally timid grey tabby would body slam our calico out of the way for a taste of the creamy stuff, the sad fact is our tabby’s tummy can’t take it. Why can’t cats drink milk?