The New Addition

As some of you who have been following this blog for awhile know, we had a little kitten named Whiskers join our family for about 4 days back in May, only to have it pass away when he went back to live with Caleb. Well, after all this time (with considerable pressure placed on us by one particular little girl) we dove head first back into the world of pet ownership yesterday.

Actually it all started on Saturday when we took Gracie and Balin to the Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control to look at animals. Angie and I wanted to look at the dogs, but Gracie was insistent on going into the room with the kittens. We relented.

It was fun watching the two of them interact with the little kitties. I was worried because Grace wanted to hold each of them in turn and was not very agile at handing the cats. Most of them folded over at the belly when she lifted them up, illiciting more than a few plantive "meows". I was trying to control Gracie and failed to pay attention to Balin who attempted to pick up one of the kittens himself. He did so by grasping the cat firmly around the neck and lifting. Needless to say his attempt was far more distressing than Gracie's.

I finally pried his finger apart and got the cat back on the ground when he quickly went after another one. Eventually we had to pick Balin up just so he couldn't get to the poor kittens.

We looked at about 20 different cats and finally settled on lovable six month old black and white short haired named Scooby Doo. It didn't take long to decide that it could come home with us but it's stupid name was staying at the pound. That caused a great deal of consternation between Grace and Angie who had their own ideas on what to name the cat. Angie preferred the names Cooper or Wilson. Grace favored the old favorite, "Mittens". Over the span of the weekend they argued back and forth. I threw out a few names and was basically poo-pooed by both of them. So, by the time yesterday rolled around and it was time for me to swing by and pick up the cat, we still had no resolution, that is until I got home.

Grace was waiting for me in the driveway. She wanted the cat and she wanted it now. Well, I took it into the house and let it our of the carrier. Grace snatched it up and told it that his name was now Mittens and that was the end of it. Grace would listen to no more arguments from Angie. So Mittens it is.

The cat is extremely lovable. He likes to climb up on your lap, your chest, your shoulders. Problem is, sometimes he chooses to do this at inopportune times, like when I was reassembling Balin's bed after moving it from our room to Megan's old bedroom. While I was talking to Angie on the phone today he lept onto Angie's shoulder while she was on the computer. In bed last night, he decided that he needed to step on my face quite often. From 4:30am on we fought with the rotten little cat, who insisted on rubbing it's face against ours, purring as he did so. I've never been overly loved to death, but the cat is making a run at it.

I think this little kitty will do well at our house. Balin loves it and laughs all the time when he's around him. Gracie too has a kinship with the cat already and is fully and madly in love with it. Even Angie has found a deeper appreciation for it (she admitted while I talked to her today). I like the cat but can't help but think that with this pet, I've lost the opportunity to replace my beloved Hughie, who I miss deeply on a daily basis. I know that I will have a hound dog again someday, but I know it won't be until after Mittens has left us.

Anyways, we have entered in the new world of cat ownership. I look forward to it. I look forward to watching my kids grow up with a pet. It means a lot to watch their interactions.

Hopefully I can post a few pictures soon. I'll keep you all updated.