A few weeks ago, we adopted two cats.
That doesn’t sound as crazy as it actually is. Let me start over.
Hi, my name is Kate. I’m allergic to cats. My fiancé already has one indoor cat. And we recently adopted two more.
Yeah, that about sums it up. That’s the right level of crazy.
So earlier this summer – early June – we were at a graduation party for a very close family friend. Frankly, this family is like nonbiological family to me – the dad was my youth leader, the mom is my mom’s best friend, and the kids grew up with me (they’re younger than me so technically I’ve watched them grow up, but I feel less like a friend and more like a big sister in my relationship with them). These people are my people.
So, we’re at the graduation cookout, and one of the siblings, Kaiti, tells Jake that she has kittens in the house. But little man went to meet the cats, too, and he fell in love with the kittens, and Kaiti asked if we wanted one when they weaned from their mother… Well of course we do, right?
Here’s a secret: I, too, love cats. I found out I was allergic when I was a little kid, spending the night at my aunt’s, and her cat had kittens, and I kept carrying them around and cuddling them to my face until the only thing that could assuage my swollen, puffy face was a long bath and more Benadryl than I can recall. (I do know that I took enough to pass out during a Mary Kate & Ashley VHS and my sister and cousin teased me mercilessly.)
So I love cats but their fur doesn’t love me.
And I agreed to adopt a kitten.
I definitely had time to back out of it. I actually reached out to Kaiti to make sure she still had them when they were closer to the date she said they’d be weaned, so I was obviously about this pet adoption. She still had both kittens. So we went to get one – but then I couldn’t stand the thought of breaking up the siblings, so we brought both home.
Little Man is smitten with them. He told me, “I can’t call them cats – they’re kittens.” And he’s learning how to carry them gently, and when he’s home and not visiting his father, he helps feed them.
When we picked up the kittens, Kaiti thought there was one male and one female. So, I’d been in charge of names, and I’d chosen Cash and Jolene. (My website is “Kate with a Twang” – y’all can’t be surprised that I’m an old school country music fan, right?)
They were (and are) so little that we couldn’t fully see their genders, so we didn’t know which was which.
Jake took them to the doctor yesterday… and – surprise – we have TWO BOYS. My house is entirely made of boys – my fiancé, my child, my dog, and ALL THREE of the cats. YIKES. I’m a tiny splash in a cesspool of testosterone. (I’m spelling out “help me” using army men and Hot Wheels, you know what I mean?)
So, anyway, we have two new kittens to add to the crew – meet Cash & Garth. (Well, we had to keep with the theme, right? Jake gets full credit for Garth, by the way – reason number 738 that I’m marrying him.)
We love them. I’m taking extra allergy medicine, and 8 days out of 10, I’m adjusting.
Welcome to the family, Cash & Garth! We love you already.
Kate with a Twang 