when adopting a cat...

For a number of years, I've really wanted to adopt a cat. Having grown up around cats and still having cats at Mom and Dad's, it just felt odd to not have a kitty in my own house. But first there was the husband who was mildly allergic to cats...then there was a job that involved heavy amounts of traveling...oh, and then I moved home and had the kitties there. Which truthfully only made the longing for a cat of my own even stronger.

So when I moved into my apartment in August, I definitely knew that - at some point in the relatively near future - I would adopt a cat. That point ended up being today. I'd looked around...I'd thought about it...I'd decided that I was ready.

Here's the one thing that potential cat owners forget to consider, though - deciding you're ready to love a cat and feed it and play with it also means agreeing to care for its needs and be patient with it and (this is important!) clean up its accidents. Because it's easy to forget that bringing an animal into a new environment will be stressful...and that emotional stress can sometimes cause physical symptoms like an upset stomach. So here's hoping that the stress has passed. Literally.

Because as willing as I am to clean up after my new kitty, I'd much rather spend time cuddling with and petting him.

Where I am: home
What I'm reading: the Spring issue of Life Beautiful magazine