Mitigu

On Thursday after I picked up the kids from school I decided to go to the Humane Society. Trysten has been begging asking for a bird, a gerbil anything that can be just his. So I thought we'd go take a look at the birds and other tiny little gross animals so that I could extinguish his hope love of any furry friends outside of dogs. That's it, just dogs.

I'm not a cat person. My parents had cats for the sole purpose of killing their many mice that roamed our country home. They'd get declawed, get outside, get run over or in a fight. We had one cat (Kitso, I think it was) who got into a fight and/or run over and messed up his jaw. He lived, for many years after, looking all kinds of messed up. Needless to say, we didn't love our cats, they just served a very specific function.

I met Zach and went to his house. His mom had 3 cats. One of them was mentally unstable, one of them really didn't want anything to do with anything but was always around and then there was another one without a tail who loved Zach. Even at the ripe age of almost 20 he would let Zach cradle him like a baby and walk to and fro. It was amazing. But not inspiring.

I wasn't a cat lady.

And then I took my 5 kids to the Humane Society by myself. First we went to the dogs where Dailah immediately started crying. Begging me to bring them all home because dogs weren't meant to live like that, in cages. Clearly didn't see that coming.

"You wanna go see the cats? Let's go see the cats!"

So we went in a room with about 10 cats/kittens. And they fell in love. And they were sooo cute with the feline friends. Begging me to buy one (actually, 5, one each). Saying sweet things like, "We'll scoop up their poop! We'll feed them! We'll do everything, once you buy them!"

Naturally, I texted Zach (who was golfing at the moment).

"What do you think about getting a cat?" With this picture attached.

He responds, "You hate cats."

Me: "Well I did...until now. I think I'll probably just go ahead and buy one then."

Z: "Are you serious right now?"

Me: "Um yes, is that ok?"

At this point he calls me and we discuss. We end the conversation with him saying, "I love you. You do what you gotta do. I just hit the best shot of my life."

And so I took that as a "Oh I'm so excited to have this new cat in our house! Please, commence to the purchase of said kitten who is of undetermined age, undetermined health and bring him to our home with 5 children and 2 dogs!"

I asked the fine employees (who seemed remarkably Emo actually) to put a hold on the little black kitten while we ran to the supermarket and grabbed the essentials. Quick text to Zach:

"Yeah, so I went ahead and bought that kitten. Maybe you want to meet us here to meet him?"

During the car trip to the store we had a really awesome conversation about adoption (because we were, after all, adopting the kitty). It might've been the very first time in the 3 1/2 years since Tariku has been home when he realized just how much he was wanted in the year it took to bring him home. It ended up being a very sweet Bob Sagget moment that was completely unplanned and completely beautiful.

When we got back to the Humane Society, I mentioned to the kids that probably they should be super nice to their dad when he came in since he gave the final okay to get the kitten. When Zach walked in the door this is what happened.

Did I mention that 2 minutes after I officially bought the cat I had to go teach classes? A quick, "Good luck with all of this! See you in a few hours!" And I peace-ed out.

The good news is Zach is a real sucker for animals. I came home to find this. Mitigu (an Ethiopian name that was part of Tariku's time there) snuggled up on Zach's lap. Sucker.

Oh his sweet, sweet, face.

Might I mention he's kind of my shadow? Mitigu and hotflawedmama as we descend the stairs so I can make nachos for the two of us (what can I say? We share a love of chihuahua cheese.)

There it is. I freakin' love this kitten. 10 wks old. Cute as all get out. I plan on him snagging the mice that get on my every last nerve and then snuggle up with me during our naptime.

Oh, and of course it's a boy. I told myself I'd buy the one that seemed best with our kids and the cat that the kids were naturally drawn to. Of course it's male.

Stupid testosterone.