It's not that I dislike animals. I think they are cute and I like to pet my friends' dogs and cats, but I've never wanted one of my own. My brother always begged for a puppy, but I listened to my parents' protestations and they sounded reasonable enough to me. No, I didn't want to pick up its poop or give it a bath. I didn't want to take it on walks when it's cold or snowing out. I didn't want hair all over everything in our house. Sure it would be nice to have a cute little fuzzy thing snuggle up on the couch with you, but those are some pretty big cons against that pro. I'm sure there are more pros, but I wouldn't know what they are. I've always felt that I didn't need anything else to take care of, no matter how cute and cuddly it may be.
So anyway.... The cat. There's a bit of a back story here.
Our next door neighbor has a few outdoor cats. They really like it over at our place, it seems. And no, we don't feed them. Still, they curl up on our patio furniture and follow Elizabeth around the backyard. Elizabeth loves it and she pets them and loves on them and, I'll admit, it's really sweet to watch.
In a temporary moment of insanity, I thought maybe we could get Elizabeth a cat for Christmas. I've always heard cats are so easy--you leave the food out for them, they go in their litter box, they wash themselves. How hard could it be? Then I looked at the patio sofa cushion covered in cat hair and was snapped back to reality. We'd have a house full of cat hair and I'd have a litter box to clean. No thank you.
But when I visited my friend Kathy on Saturday, I sat down at her kitchen table and her cat jumped in my lap. Cats do that? My impression of house cats has always been that they run away from people, hide under beds, can't be bothered with you, and are not very friendly creatures. Snoopy, however, was nuzzling my sweatshirt, purring contentedly, and stealing my heart. When it was time for me to go, I gave her a big hug and Kathy jokingly suggested that we catsit Snoopy while they go away for the holidays. "She doesn't shed and she is as friendly as a dog without all the work. It would be a good way to try out a pet." Not only did I sleep on that idea, but last night I also slept with a purring cat on my pillow.
So yes. Snoopy is roaming freely in our house. More accurately, she's been under my bed or in my closet most of the day. We're patiently allowing her to get a feel for the place and for us. No rush. I coax her out of her hiding places occasionally and she rubs against me, flips over, and I rub her belly. She seems to like that. She also like the strings on my hoodie. Goes crazy for them! Elizabeth was a bit disappointed that Snoopy wasn't coming to her like the next door cats do, so she wore my hoodie and they bonded over the string.
I hope Snoopy gets comfortable enough here to snuggle on the couch with us soon. This is only a little test. Rest assured, no life-changing decisions on pets have been made quite yet.
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