Here Kitty, Kitty

So while the kids were at camp, the hubby & I enjoyed a little time alone - nice to put aside the Mom & Dad responsibilities for a few days :)  As part of our staycation, we decided we would try to find a cat.  Our son has been asking for one for a couple years now - we got the gerbils two years ago as a "fuzzy pet that can be held but requires minimal attention" compromise, and decided we were ready to move up the pet ladder.  We did not tell the kids we were doing this, as we didn't want them to be disappointed if we did not find one that was a good fit.  I had a list of musts: female, already spayed, at least a year old, friendly and even-tempered, and preferably de-clawed.  We went to the humane society on Tuesday, and they had lots of kittens and adult males, but only a few females, and none of them were very friendly.  We went back on Wednesday "just in case," and ended up finding her (she was in the back getting checked when we were there the day before).  She is not de-clawed, but was very friendly right out of the holding cell, and hubby even said she was OK (and considering that he was describing a cat, that's high praise!)

So we did the necessary paperwork, did a quick run to the store to buy food, litter box, etc. and then picked up our newest family member.  I took her to the vet the next morning, and it turns out she had a mild intestinal parasite.  Nothing like adopting a pet and then having to give it medicine for ten days.  Giving a dose of oral liquid is definitely a two person job.

Anyway, we had her about twenty eight hours before the kids came back home - she had no idea what she was in for.  D was the first one in the house, and he noticed her food dish right away and gave me a puzzled look.  He then took another step and saw the litter box, then in a squeaky voice (he'd lots most of it from all the yelling at camp) said, "We got a cat?!?!?" I was standing right behind him - he gave me a huge hug, and then asked, "Where is it?!" A was right behind me and was excitedly but cautiously peering around, also looking for her (one reason we decided to go ahead and get a cat is because she is still super jumpy around animals, and we figured it would be good for her to have a pet of her own).  Anyway, both kids were super excited to see her all nestled into a chair across the room...

We named her Opal, and she's about two years old. We have no idea what breed she is, but probably some Siamese in there somewhere just because of those gorgeous blue eyes.  She's pretty mellow and very tolerant of D's attentions. She is not declawed, but so far she's not tearing up our couches or anything.  We did buy her a nifty little scratching post, but the kids play with it more than she does ;)

It's still kind of surreal.  Honestly, I prefer dogs, but our back yard has very little grass, plus it's so stinkin' hot most of the year that I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving it out all day if we were gone.  Cats? Well, they might be snooty but at least they're lower maintenance.  We'll see how this goes.  I was joking around with a friend that we've been married 18 years and have two kids, so now we're finally ready to commit to a pet. Yeah, we do things a little differently than most...