now with cats

Yes, hell has frozen over. Succumbing to pressure from our children—and this is no small thing, as I am the queen of “I’ll think about it”—John and I adopted kittens. I know: we’ve always contended that we’re not pet people. Though, if we had to be pet people, we’d have a cat.

A month ago, Winston began making his case for a dog. Winston is scared of dogs, so he was thinking Chihuahua-size would be okay for him. And, when I asked why he wanted a dog, since he avoids them at all cost, he said, “Because if you have a pet, you get less stress and live longer.” Well, I want that, too. So we asked Winston if he could live with a cat, and it turns out that he’d love a kitten.

I bought Winston a great book about being a cat owner so he could see what he was getting himself into. He would read diagrams and captions aloud to me whenever we were in the car. He knows what to feed a cat (pasta, good) and what not to feed a cat (milk and tablescraps, bad), also how to train a cat to sit (reinforce with a treat, of course). But, Winston also read that if you have a busy family and are away from home often, you should get two cats so they can keep each other company instead of, out of boredom, ripping up your home. I have kids ergo I follow the logic.

After Winston’s soccer practice on Saturday, we headed to the Animal Humane Society, which, at 11 a.m. had many kittens available. But, by noon, AHS had one kitty. And she’s a cute kitty, at that. I thought maybe we’d come home with just that one, even though the plan had been to adopt two kittens, preferably littermates. Then, a blue-cream calico tapped John on the shoulder. They quickly became friends, and her fate to have a good home was sealed. The calico is a year old, so she’s a young cat, too. We’re hoping the kitty will keep her active since she’s a little overweight—not that it’s obvious, either.

The boys are both soooo awesome with their new pets, preferring to play with the kitties instead of with their electronics. Hallelujah!

Introducing Trixie


and Nancy