KAREN LENFESTEY, "Happy Endings with a Twist"
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Biography
  • Book Clubs
  • Contact Karen
  • Author Interview
  • Author Events
  • Treats for Mom blog

Are Two Cats Better Than One?

11/23/2012

2 Comments

 
Picture
“I wish Romeo could have kittens,” my seven-year-old daughter laments.  I know, you’re thinking Romeo can’t have kittens because Romeo is a male cat. That’s what we thought, too, when we adopted the gray striped kitten from the animal shelter. Since he was so affectionate, we named him Romeo. Then at our first trip to the vet to discuss getting the cat fixed, we learned that he was really a she. By then, I thought it might confuse the kitten to change its name. Either way, Romeo will never have kittens.

Now ten years old, the cat spends most of her day napping under the bed or shedding in my favorite chair. So it makes sense that my daughter wants a cute, playful kitten.

“I like kittens, too,” I say. “But they grow up so fast.” Kind of like kids—only faster. Plus I explain it would be twice the litter to scoop and twice the hairballs to clean. Like all starry-eyed children, my daughter offers to do all of the work. I do not fall for these empty promises. So she gets out a piece of paper and writes “Dear Santa.” She looks up at me, “Mom, how do you spell ‘real kitten’?”

Uh-oh. Will this be the year Santa disappoints her? Maybe another kitten wouldn’t be much more trouble. But then I remember. We’ve been a two-cat household before. We had a crazy calico that used to bite for no reason. I cried when I realized she couldn’t stay once we had a baby. Then my husband fed a starving stray on our back porch. We refused to name the black feline, calling her simply Kitty-kitty. Eventually I caved and took her to the vet for her vaccinations. I resented the hassle of feeding two cats—one inside and one outside. Then one day Kitty-kitty howled and started acting strange. I had no idea she’d soon die in our backyard. I cried and cried. Why hadn’t I realized something was terribly wrong?

That’s the thing about pets. You love them, but eventually they make you cry. Maybe it’s not just the hassle I want to avoid, but also the heartache. All of these memories make me realize I should appreciate what I have. Suddenly I wonder where Romeo is hiding so I can scratch behind her ears. I just love it when she purrs. . . .

(Please do not take this as an invitation to drop off any kittens on my doorstep!)

If you enjoy a story that warms you like the love of a good pet, you’ll appreciate On the Verge, where a husband’s head injury leads him to bring home a puppy and buy a house without talking to his new wife. Available on Amazon for $2.99.


For a chance to win an autographed copy of What Happiness Looks Like, click here.


CAST YOUR VOTE: Are two cats better than one?


2 Comments
Providence BDSM link
10/16/2013 05:01:07 am

Great site, did I read this right that its free from Weebly?

Reply
Punjabi Hookup Missouri link
10/30/2022 11:55:57 am

Hi great reading yourr post

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Contact Karen
    Picture
    Should Bethany track down the daughter she's never known just to give her bad news?
    Picture
    What event could make a woman second-guess her stance on motherhood?
    join karen's club

    Archives

    January 2024
    May 2019
    April 2016
    May 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    March 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011

    Categories

    All
    Advice
    Angelina Jolie
    Antenna
    Apo
    Appreciation
    Babies
    Band-aids
    Blog Hop
    Book Review
    Books
    Bribe
    Butterflies
    Cable
    Career
    Cat
    Charity
    Chick Lit
    Childhood
    Children
    Christmas
    Civil Rights
    Clue
    Cookies
    Cooking
    Crushes
    Crying
    Cutting The Cord
    Dads
    Date
    Daughter
    Daughters
    Diet
    Donut
    Duma
    Dvd
    Easy Recipes
    Ethics
    Fairies
    Family
    Family Film
    Fatherhood
    February
    Fiction
    First Love
    Free Book
    Fun
    Gambling
    Games
    Girls
    Grandchildren
    Grandmothers
    Gratitude
    Grumpy Cat
    Hero
    History
    Humor
    Ice Cream
    Interview
    Job
    Karate
    Kid Recipes
    Kids
    Kids Movies
    Kitten
    Kittens
    Las Vegas
    Las Vegas Strip
    Leadership
    Left-handed
    Losing
    Love
    Love-hate
    Magic
    Marriage
    Martin Luther King Jr.
    Midwest Writer's Workshop
    Mixed Messages
    Mom
    Moms
    Monday
    Morals
    Motherhood
    Movies
    Murphy's Law
    Niagara Falls
    No
    Novella
    Novels
    Nutrition
    Oprah
    Oreos
    Parenthood
    Parenting
    Pets
    Philanthropy
    Reading
    Recipes
    Reward
    Riviera Hotel
    Role Model
    Romance
    SAHM
    Sal Dimiceli
    Santa
    Smoothie
    Snacks
    Sportsmanship
    Stay At Home Moms
    Stay-at-home Moms
    Student
    Summer
    Tae Kwon Do
    Teacher
    Teachers
    Tears
    Television
    Thankful
    Thanksgiving
    The Next Big Thing
    Titanic
    Tourism
    Tradition
    Treat
    Trips
    TV
    Vacation
    Vacations
    Valentine
    Valentines
    Vegas
    Vote
    Winning
    Women's Fiction
    Working Moms
    Writing

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.