We now have a cat. A kitten, to be more precise. Nine weeks old, she was sitting ins crate at the vet with her brother and on the crate was the sign "Free to a loving and approved home." Scoundrels that they are, the receptionists and vet techs were happily letting anyone who wanted to hold the little ones, play with them, etc. My youngest son and daughter had accompanied me to the vet to witness our dog's physical exam (thrilling stuff - I tell you, you haven't lived until you've witnessed a dog's anal glands being unblocked - blech!). As soon as the children saw the kittens, I had a sinking feeling this would be our turn.
We have never had a cat in our house. My husband has always been allergic, for about 6 years I was allergies, and for the first 10 years of his life our eldest son's face would turn red and blow up to 1/3 again its normal size as he sneezed and sniffed his way through cat situations. We have never had a puppy in our house. We have always been the folks who have the foundling or the pooch from the Humane Society - usually past puppyhood. So there they were, cuddling and cooing and I was lost. My daughter asked if she could have one of the kittens. "We have to ask Daddy," was my only reply. Daddy, of course, was on the road and in an unreachable area of PA. By the time my husband finally got home, we had gotten the vet tech to promise not to adopt out the girl kitten for 24 hours so we would have time to talk to Dad. I was already on the "let's do this" side of the path. I think every child should have the experience of a baby animal to care for - puppy, kitten, lamb - something sweet and dependent and a little uncooperative - this is a good thing for children to experience.
We now own her. A sweet little calico who have the variety of name suggestions including
Stellaluna (my 4 year old's idea),
Elizabeth (my daughter's), Rosalinda (again the 4 yr. old) and
Isabella (daughter again). Our eldest had the following suggestions -
Spit Fire (after a bull), and Snowball - mind you, this is a calico, so yes, lots of white, but a lot of grey and brown as well. If she is a snowball, it must be city snow!!
her name is now Isabella Rosalinda which has been shortened to Izzy.
I am not a cat person. I may mention the cat on a rare occasion, but I promise you this will never become the story of all the cute and silly things my cat did today. Not me. Not now. Not never! I like a cat as well as any other animal, but really I am a dog person. I must say, however, I am astounded by how easily amused this cat is. The kids tied the inner core of a roll of Scotch tape to a string, tied on end to the back of a kitchen chair, and this animal is thrilled! Simple pleasures, I guess.
Of course, at 5 a.m. this morning - a full hour before my alarm, she woke me with piteous yowls. I forgot that babies cry - be they human, canine or feline. We had put her in the bathroom for the night because our house is much bigger than the crate she was used to and she was scared, and because the floor has no carpet there, so accidents would be simpler to take care of. For an hour I sat on the floor with her on my chest so she could rest while I learned new places that could become uncomfortable on my bottom and back! I admit, she has charmed me.
