After my pet rabbit, Arthur, passed away in 2008, I said I would never have another animal in the house again. He was special and I wanted to live with his memory for a while, but another reason I didn’t want another animal in the house was because of the fur. He was a hairy little joker. I found rabbit hair dust bunnies hiding in the corners of our downtown apartment for years after he died. Maddox had only been home with us a few months when Arthur got an infected tooth that got out of hand.

As Maddox got older he–like all children–started asking for pets. I couldn’t ever bring myself to commit. We tried beta fish. We went through several of those. Optimus Prime #1, #2, #3, and #4, and then Megatron who lived longer than any of the others. We were still in the phase of our lives where we were moving every two to three years, so it never went farther than fish.

Once Mia came along there were two of them begging me for an animal. It didn’t take them long before they had Jamie in on it too. I agreed to a dog, but only once we got to the farm. I wanted to be able to just open the door to let it out. I didn’t want to mess with a leash. And I certainly didn’t want a cat. Growing up I wasn’t even allowed to talk about wanting a cat. My dad doesn’t like them. (I’m making a mental note to ask my aunts and uncles if there is a story or childhood trauma involving him and a cat that I need to know about.) I always told myself I was a dog person and that meant I had to hate cats. I used to say that I wanted a little dog to curl up and sleep by my head.

We went to the Humane Society and played with some puppies. When Jamie sat the puppy on the ground in front of them, both of my children were climbing the walls trying to get away from the tiny dog because he wanted to lick them. After that they decided they weren’t ready for a dog. I breathed a huge sigh of relief thinking I was off the hook. Guess what they asked me for next.

Yes. A cat. And they didn’t just ask. Maddox wrote me this letter. This was back in 2015, before he was able to write clearly, so I’ll have to loosely translate. Basically he wants a cat to pet and play with.

We were back at the Humane Society the next day.

This poor kitty had no idea what she was signing up for. We didn’t take her home that day. We thought about it another few days. Then Jamie surprised the kids. He came home from work with a tiny black kitty cat. They named her Abby.

Below are two videos of when Jamie surprised the kids.

This cat was just what I needed right when I needed it. I am so glad we now have our farm, but getting here was rough. I was in a dark place for a while when we were trying to figure everything out. We had packed everything up thinking we would be in temporary housing for six months and it turned into two years. Abby was there for me without asking for much in return. She was content to sit in my lap or to look over my shoulder while I worked. She was a friend who just sat there and held my hand through a crisis with no agenda beyond sitting with me. Also during that time my strong willed little girl was still in diapers just because she didn’t want us to tell her what to do. Abby could use the litter box right away! That alone was enough to sell me.

Abby is independent in a way that I respect. She’s not necessarily aloof; she acknowledges us. She and I share many knowing looks. She is able to convey her support to me with just a well timed blink. She isn’t the type of cat that tries to steal your attention by sitting on your hands while you are typing. She just wants to be near you. Right now while I’m typing this she’s laying on the back of the couch behind my head. She wants me to know she’s there for me, and I appreciate that. She even sometimes sleeps by my head. All those years I said I wanted a little dog to do that, turns out I just needed a cat.

Abby has changed my mind about cats. I’m not saying I’m a full on cat person. I’m just an animal person. I love them all. But no more animals in the house. This time I mean it!