I have a disabled cat (kitty cerebral palsy) who wobbles past the baby gate a few times a day to see if anybody has thrown something interesting out of the daycare area. He really likes hard plastic toys that scoot easily across the floor. I'm not sure he deliberately goes for the noisiest possible option, but that's how it always turns out. Playmobil 123 people and animals, nesting cups, crayons, and square Duplos all skitter pleasingly.

It's pouring rain today, and I got out one of those pop-up tent that looks like a princess castle. One of my toddlers was playing roughly with it, so I moved the tent out of the daycare area. It's the best thing that has ever happened to this cat. He staggers in. He staggers out. He gets his legs stuck around the tent poles. He hops up in the air, falls over, lies there for a while, then gets up and does it again. He's having much more fun than the kids were.

Do you have a pet who thinks the daycare is their personal toy chest? Do they lurk as close as possible at mealtimes? Is your daily walk a puppy parade? Or, like my other cat, do they hide during business hours because children are noisy and grabby?

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