Adoption

Literally five seconds after the woman who adopted our sugar gliders Chili and Pepper walked out the door both kids were bugging me about a new dog.  Another dog.  Another pet.

I gave a typical smart response and told them that they needed to let things settle, the sting of $600 walking out the front door mainly, before bringing up another animal.

Minutes passed and Hannah was on the SISCA site...then onto the Human Society site.  She changed the background picture on the computer to a picture of a dog she had found...Chuckie the Cheweenie.  Any dog she found Hannah would look at the picture and give the saccharine "awww."  I was throwing up in my mouth.

Don't get me wrong!  I love dogs.  I love animals.  I would have a house FULL of dogs if I weren't allergic, and I didn't mind pee everywhere.  My clean phobia battles my animal loving obsession all the time.

I am slammed at work and school this week.  Working late, finals, soccer games, you name it.  Yesterday as I sat at the kitchen table working on a piece for my final I look up to see a bag of bones cat crawling around our deck.  I had heard the kids mention it before, but never really paid attention.

I walked into the laundry room and scooped up some food (Chloe's cheap cat food) and leaving Chloe inside the house to attack the french door, went outside and placed a disposable container of food under the bench on the deck out of the rain.  I sat back down at the kitchen table, and not five minutes later I looked up to see the cat chowing down.  I watched her for awhile and after she finished and disappeared I walked outside to retrieve the dish.

The cat was mewing like crazy from under the deck.  So I climbed under the deck to see.  She, with a little prompting, came out and attacked me with her neck, trying to get me to pet her.

I am allergic.  Not crazy allergic, but pretty darn close.  So I pet her and talked to her while Chloe whipped herself into a frenzy in the house.

More snuggling.  More food.  Kids came home to find we had adopted an outdoor cat.

The kids made her a nice little bed and food dish in the safety of the bushes surrounding the deck.  Last night we had a terrible rain storm and I woke a few times wondering if she were okay.  Maybe she should come in the garage?

I guess I'm a cat owner.