The Circle

Merry Meet Family and Friends!

Ok, so I have some happy news and some "not so happy" news. I usually like to dispense with the crappy stuff first given how it, you know, sucks!

Some of you may recall me writing about our elder cat, Dominick. Dominick epitomized the word, "longevity" from a feline standpoint. Our best guess put him somewhere at around 26 years old, making him about 120 in cat years. With the exception of a visit to the vet to be neutered, he was never sick once in his entire 120 years! We were all in agreement however, that his attempt at immortality was beginning to get a little creepy. Yesterday, after a brief illness, Dominick officially left the building. Yes, it saddened us. Yes, we felt he lived a long and happy life and yes, I have a twisted sense of humor!

Now, on to some happier news! Last Thursday, I was at work where for all intents and purposes, I was supposed to be working. Yet, for reasons still unclear to me, I found myself perusing the pet adoption site, Petfinder.com. This site places homeless pets with adoptive parents. You enter the kind of pet you'd like to adopt, their age, and your location and it brings up every animal shelter or adoption agency in your area, with a every pet available, complete with photos! I've adopted 3 of my 4 dogs without ever having to leave the comfort of my home. In light of recent pet adoption disasters however, my husband had put a moratorium on any further adoptions. Still, while the cat's away.....

As much as I hate to admit it, it seems we have run into string of some bad cat luck of late. Several months ago we lost our cat, Autumn as well. We adopted Autumn from Angels for Animals Network, the same agency from whom we recently adopted Persephone, the cat that was so ill. Like Persephone, Autumn was plagued with illness from shortly after her adoption. We spent hundreds of dollars in vet bills, only to have her die suddenly. She was only a year and half old. I was heartbroken. Yes, Ray had a valid point. No more cats!

Ok, so I typed in a search for "cat", "baby" and "domestic long hair" and up pops a photo of a beautiful 8 week old kitten, that bore a striking resemblance to my Autumn. I was smitten! Without hesitation, I sent off a cheerful little note to the agency to find out if she was still available and she was! Now, my only dilemma was how to tell Ray that I wanted to adopt another cat. Then I noticed a little box on the bottom of the screen that read, "Share This Pet on Facebook". Oh yes, I did!

A few moments later, my phone rang. It was Ray and the conversation went a little something like this:

Ray: We're not getting another cat!
Me: But she's a baby! And she looks just like my Autumn!
Ray: I don't care, Trace! We're not getting another cat! Are you crazy?!
Me: But isn't she cute?
Ray: I don't care how cute she is! We don't need another cat! I don't want another cat! We're not getting another cat!

Hmmmm...now I could see I was going to have to resort to my powers of persuasion if I was going to make this happen.

I mustered up my best "don't fuck with me" attitude and yelled, "Ray, if you don't let me adopt this kitten, I am going to take a shit fit the likes of which you can only imagine!!! "Sometimes you act just like a 3 year old!", Ray yelled back. "Yes I do!, I retorted. "A three year old who practices Witchcraft!".

May I present, Lady Ember a.k.a. "Baby Wiatch"