When I went on dates in college, I was very upfront about not liking animals. I'd never say I hated them because I didn't wish anything bad to happen to them, I just didn't ever want any animals of my own. Over the "long" (almost) five years that Brian and I have been married, he has said that someday he and the kids will talk me into having a cat, or bring one home someday, or give me one for Christmas. I told him we'd probably have to go to counseling after that. Oh, and I'd prefer him to have a gun than a cat.
However, recently I came up with a compromise. I'm not sure why it occurred to me (even though my cousin's family fosters dogs), but one day about a month ago I told Brian that I could maybe get on board with fostering a kitten. My main issues with cats are they get big (I think kittens are cute, cats...not as much), they shed, they cost money, and it's very long-term. Fostering kittens would solve many of these problems.
When I made the comment to Brian, I thought it would be a "someday in the future" type thing, but about a week later the animal shelter was showing their animals at the mall and Brian was able to get a bunch of information on fostering. Then he spent two Saturdays for three hours each doing volunteer training, plus he took a drug test and committed to cleaning out the kitty litter...so I figured we could work it out.
So, if you know me well at all, this may come as a surprise, but I let a kitten move in with us.
When I made the comment to Brian, I thought it would be a "someday in the future" type thing, but about a week later the animal shelter was showing their animals at the mall and Brian was able to get a bunch of information on fostering. Then he spent two Saturdays for three hours each doing volunteer training, plus he took a drug test and committed to cleaning out the kitty litter...so I figured we could work it out.
So, if you know me well at all, this may come as a surprise, but I let a kitten move in with us.
Meet Minnie the kitty. She was named by Wes (after a couple suggestions he didn't like). I consented to get the kitten for the kids, too, because they really need more animal exposure! They are really enjoying her, actually. It's fun to watch.
Brian's been having a great time with Minnie. We'll keep her until she weighs enough to be spayed and then a week after that for her to heal and then she can go back to the shelter to be adopted. So we should have her for about four weeks. They also give us litter, food, a toy, and a carrier for her, so there are no costs to us.
Here's proof that I actually hold the kitten every so often and that I let her invade my closet. I even play with her occasionally. It's definitely interesting and new for me having the kitten around. I'm thinking I'm glad it's not a long-term commitment, but we'll see how the next few weeks go.
