Judging from my blog posts this week, I guess the pets have weighed heavily on my mind this week.

When we went to town for shopping earlier this week, we stopped in at Petco to get some kitty litter and to check on food. Now, I generally forget that they have cats for adoption there and only remember when I find one of the boys over looking at them. But that day, just as we got to the door, I said, “Let’s go look at the cats.” My son was all weirded out by that.

We went over and there was a tiny tabby who started talking to us and dancing. I was still like, “Yeah, yeah, cats.” A dime, a dozen. But I do like to look. They had a fluffy black cat that looked like a cross between Coville and Bella. And they had a couple others.

But as the tabby was talking to us, I noticed something was wrong with it. Then I realized it was missing an eye. Aw, poor thing. Right? I read the sign for it and saw that the kitten had lost its eye to an infection.

But she looked healthy now and energetic. And talkative.

Kevin and I joked about adopting it. Then we went and walked around the store.

Our joking turned serious and we found ourselves back over there. When the kitten saw us coming back, she jumped right up and started talking to us again and trying to smell us through the little breathing holes.

The last thing I wanted to do was adopt another pet. Especially when they find their way to my doorstep far too easily.

Plus, I had my pets to consider. All of them are technically seniors, even though Bella doesn’t act like it. How were they going to respond to a kitten coming in?

We made our purchase and went back one last time to look at the cat. Kevin took pictures of the information. We drove over to the mall and I found myself filling out the adoption application in the parking lot of the mall. Seriously? I was doing this?

Then I waited.

When I didn’t hear anything back, I thought maybe I’d entered my email incorrectly. Or maybe they were taking their time with applications because… you know, “Aw, one-eyed cat. Let’s rescue poor one-eyed kitty. Bonus: rescue kitty for Christmas!” Sorry, kitty was already rescued. She didn’t need that any more. Now she needed a home that was going to understand her, love her, and keep her safe.

Was I going to be able to do that with my other pets?

I sat with this question for several days. I missed the initial callback because my phone didn’t alert me to an incoming call. I discovered it when I was going to bed. When I woke the next morning, I saw that they had emailed me half an hour after they called. So I called back and went through the interview. They had one other family they wanted to talk to and would let me know later in the day. I got called back that evening to set up a time to meet with the kitty.

Did I really want to take home a kitty with one eye, one that is also scarred from the infection with the possibility of blindness in her future? Did I really want to disrupt the other pets with a new one?

Even after meeting her today, I still had these questions going through my mind. All the what-if’s and the fears that pop in one’s mind when deciding something that will be a 15-year commitment. I literally took hours after meeting her to decide if I wanted to continue with the adoption. I kept trying to figure out if I could make this work.

And yet, I was certain that she kept pulling my energy from the moment I walked into Petco earlier this week.

Yes, we took her home. (defeated sigh!) (grin)

She is very playful and curious. Oh, she climbs like a monkey too. Right now, she is sleeping and I can hear her softly snoring. Sometimes she huffs. Both the puffing breaths and the snoring reminds me of Mystery Penny (we called he Myst for short) – Myst was the cat we adopted shortly after my divorce because the boys wanted a pet and I thought a cat might be good; she was. Myst passed away about a year after Bella showed up on our doorstep sick with kitten fever.

Introductions are going as well as can be expected. Kitten is separated away from the others for now. Merlin was so happy when we first brought the kitten in. He was ready for a new playmate. Then he realized that his status in the pack might be in jeopardy. Now he can’t decide if the new kitten is going to be fun or a danger. Kreeli was curious, but doesn’t really care. Bella hissed. I expected that. Coville got down right angry. He howled at me when I held him after holding the kitten for a while. He was glad that Kevin still sat with him as normal after dinner, but he yowled a couple of times that he was not happy about the smell of the kitten on Kevin. He glares at the area where the kitten is quite frequently and snarls his displeasure at the whole thing. But, at the end of the day, I know he’s a lover, not a fighter, so I suspect he’ll get over it. Besides, it might give Bella a playmate so she’ll quit picking on Coville like she has been lately. I hope this works out for him in the end.

I hope this works out for me in the end too.

I think she’ll stay fairly small because of being so sick early in her life. I’ve had a round cat box in my office for several months. I bought it thinking that Bella might like it. She hated it. This kitten loves cat boxes. So, I am hoping that I have office kitty.

Yeah, this is going to be a new adventure.

Let’s not forget trying to come up with a name for her. We’ve been talking about that all week too. Her rescue name is “Temmy,” but there’s a long story behind that and so it feels kind of strange to keep it. But, who knows.

At least, for now, the house is quiet so I’m going to go get some writing done.

To new adventures.