Christmas Cat Cousin

Katy - this is for you! Daisy, December 2003 ...

Five years later and she is still doing it - give in to the obsession! :)

Our Daisy

My family got our first cat when I was 16 years old. She was a black, gray, and white tabby and her name was Minnie. She was the cutest thing - she loved to cuddle and "knead the bread." (If you have a cat who does this, you know what I mean!)

We had to put Minnie to sleep in 2002 when she was about 15 years old because she had cancer. It was the saddest day - I held her until the end. She was such a wonderful cat and was very close to my mom - she had to leave the room. My brother Eric and Minnie would play chase/peek-a-boo around doorways - and whenever she would hear his diesel truck from a block away she would run to the window that overlooked the driveway to see him pull in.

Minnie was great - and I always knew another cat was in my future - and it was a tribute to her that my memories of having a flirty feline were so wonderful. When Andy and I got married we decided to settle in to our townhouse and adopt a cat after the new year.

You know what they say, "Man plans, God laughs."

We were in our townhouse for a few months, and I was teaching high school at the time. I was walking down the hall during one of my periods off and someone said, "There's the cutest cat in the guidance office." Of course, I had to go look. No intentions of anything else - just taking a peek.

I walked in and there were a ton of kids in there (um, class?) and the cat was in a box. I look into this box and there was this teeny tiny ball of black fluff. She looked like the stuffing that fell out of a pillow. She was mewing and crying and I picked her up. Turns out one of the guidance counselors had heard her crying for a day or two - and his office was over the boiler room. He and a maintenance man went down there - lost her out a vent - and one of them chased her around the quad until he caught her.

I held her - and picked up the phone. I began to blubber and sputter out the whole story to Andy - we HAD to take this cat home - she's FREE - she's a little BABY. He sighed and said yes. (Later he told me that he was like, "What the heck was I supposed to say? NO?")

I brought her to Minnie's vet and $250 of shots and tests and cleanings later (Andy: "She's free, huh?")- we brought home our newest kitty. I called her Daisy Duck, since technically Minnie's name was Minnie Mouse, and it just made sense.

It took her weeks to come near us. But when she did she NEVER left my side. Andy grew up with dogs (I am NOT a dog person) so he wanted to wrestle and tease and play. She is wary of that man to this day. I would just sit there with her and pet her and scratch her and we would just BE. It got to the point that she would bother us all night while we were trying to sleep, so we had to keep her in the (finished) basement at night. When I was pregnant with the girls I stopped working in my first trimester and would sleep and sleep. Andy would let Daisy out of the basement each morning and she would run up to our room, crawl under the covers with me, and we would spend the whole morning like that. I miss those days! :)

When the girls came, I was worried. But Daisy is scared of them (wonder why, the crazies) and she's never once bothered them. Daisy and I don't have our morning naps together anymore (we both miss those!), but she snuggles up with me when I am watching TV at night - or sits and watches while I fold laundry. The girls call her name and try to pet her - she usually runs away. But I know that as they get older and calmer she will open up to them more - and I can't wait to see them all snuggled up on the couch together one day.

Here are some pictures of our first Little Girl ... enjoy!

Time to myself? Priceless ... (or ... The Bib Adventure)

About a week ago I couldn't find our cat. "What?" you say, "You have a cat?" Yes, we do - her name is Daisy - and I just realized I have not once blogged about the adorable creature that she is and how she came into our lives. That's a blog for another day.

Anyway ... couldn't find the cat. I looked in all the usually places - including the closets - I have been known to unintentionally close her into a closet all day long. I did this twice when she was only a few months old - ALL DAY while I was teaching - poor thing. She is a bIack cat and just blends in with the shadows. I felt so bad! She was a good girl and didn't relieve herself all day either time. I check the closets all the time now before I shut the door.

Anyway ... couldn't find the cat. Then I did ...

There she is ... all cuddled up in a ball in probably the softest place in the house: the girls' bib basket. Ugh.

I let her stay for a while - because she is the cutest thing and I love her - and when she finally left I washed the whole basket of bibs and burb cloths. Burb cloths? The girls are 2 1/2 - we don't need those anymore - as well as about 20 bibs that were stuffed at the bottom that no longer fit their necks. So I sorted and separated and bagged up the bibs and burp cloths that I wouldn't need again for a couple more years. I don't have a picture of this stage - because why would I?

Now I wish I did! Here is the latest state of said "too small" bibs, et al:

Katie and Maddie have been playing with them for over half-an-hour! As I type! They found two bowls in the cabinet and have been transferring the bibs back and forth. They are falling on the floor - getting sprinkled with juice - stepped on. Will I have to wash and pack them up all over again? Sure. Do I care? Nope. Totally worth a half hour of peace.

Aaaahhh.....