I'm not really a cat person. Nothing against them personally. I guess it is because I have these crazy allergies that make me miserable when I am around them. Or maybe because one slaughtered the baby birds that were in a nest on my porch...well regardless of the reason, I've just never really been a cat person.
We were given a full blooded Golden Retriever puppy. Six summers ago. I was okay with him, until he got big enough to knock me down, and now, well, I pet him, or throw him tennis balls from the opposite side of the fence. I also sneak him a "treat" or two when we have leftovers. We also have a mixed breed dog. He is part Jack Russel Terrier and part Yorkie. Thankfully he is more like the Yorkie side of the family. I do have issues with Jack Russels...but that's another story for another day. He is a sweetie. I would play with him more, but that would require full tackle football pads to protect me from the Golden Retriever.
So, we have moved into this turn of the century house. I love it! I love the character it has. I love the big front porch. I love it! But being built in the turn of the century, it has it's issues. We also live next to a field that is cut periodically for hay. When the field is cut, we see more action in our little squeaky, whiskered neighbors. Often, they try to move in with us. And I'm having NONE of that. So, we decided we would get an outside cat. The solution to our chipmunk problem as well. Maybe it would even scare the squirrels (who love our attic) away too...You know...Super Kitty! Here she comes to save the day!!! We began asking around, and found one. We brought her to her new home, and she was scared to death. So we did all we could to make her comfortable. And somehow along the way, fell in love with her. We would come home from school and she would practically trip us rubbing around our feet for love as we walked to the house. I thought cats were supposed to be independent, and standoffish! She also made friends with the cat across the street. Good friends. Like they really got to know one another...in a Biblical sense of the word. And before we knew it, we were the proud owners of one super kitty, and three super kittens. Somehow, they grew, and we would take our allergy medicine and go play with them each day, falling more and more in love with them. Then come in and change clothes and take showers. We shamelessly marketed them on Facebook, at church, through phone calls, and finally found homes for two of them. We decided we would keep the last one (providence, I am sure). We had the momma kitty fixed, and shots to prevent kitty leukemia (who knew?). The hubby was not happy about the bill. And once again, all was right in the universe...
Until I came down stairs after bathing the little one (child- not kitten), to hear strange sounds from the backyard. I turned on the light and realized that somehow, the momma kitty had gotten into the backyard with the dogs, and let me tell ya, they don't make kitty sized football pads. They were fighting, well, like cats and dogs. I screamed for the older kids, who immediately ran out to break up the fight, and for the hubby, who was upstairs, who also ran out to help. I tried to shelter the little one, who had claimed the momma kitty as her own, and actually had a special bond with her, from seeing the results. When the hubby brought the kitty to the door, with one cut over her eye, I thought for sure we had dodged a catastrophe (no pun intended). But when my middle child came to the door crying to let the cat stay in for the night, I began to worry. All allergies aside, I got a warm wet washcloth and tried to clean up the cat. I knew by the way that she was acting (or just laying there panting) that she probably would not make it. A few hours later, she died. Our "not cat people" family cried. And then there was the kitten, who "cried" too. Off and on all night, and the next day. To which my husband said for me to call our friend who also had kittens and see if we could get one of hers to keep ours company. Didn't we just do everything in our power to get RID of cats??!! Now we are looking for another one?!? Have we lost our minds!?!
We took the kids to a movie. A kid movie. A comedy. To lighten the mood. And wouldn't you know!?! In the movie...their cat dies!!! Perfect. Just perfect! So, we get home, contact our friend, and go pick out a new kitten. A companion for our lonely kitten. It took a couple of days for them to get used to each other, but now they are friends, and our front porch once again has kittens running around playfully, or curled up sleeping cozily. And once again, for now at least, all is right in our little corner of the universe.
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