Kim and Ryan's Wedding: Carrie's New Critter

Our date night was over. Carrie and I stepped out of the car and we saw a woman walking outside our vacation home. She saw us and smiled.

"Want a kitten?"

What else would you expect my wife to say?

The woman, Brenda, found the kitten rummaging around her trashcans. Her dog went nuts. She tried bringing the kitten in the house and then her cat went nuts, too.

Brenda was on the way to drop the cat off at the "house that feeds the strays" when she saw us.

Carrie took one look and her heart melted. She started cooing and making faces she only makes when something is insufferably cute. I swear she'd have stomped her feet and done cartwheels and exhortations through the parking lot if it would not have scared the kitten.

Carrie slowly turned to face me.

"Happy Anniversary, Love." I said.

Because clearly it was all planned.

Carrie brought little bitz in and set her up in a bathroom. The kitten started to cry, though. My wife, the softie, let the kit sleep with her.

Well, she let it sleep with her until it started using it's millimeter claws to crawl up her allergic husband's back in the middle of the night. Then, she let her sleep on the couch with her.

And the kitten slept right on the pillow next to my wife. It was very cute. 

Shane was absolutely thrilled when he discovered Mommy and the new addition in the morning.

Kitty was not thrilled with garbage trucks, but she loved to play. She "danced" and chased feet, sat on shoulders, chased string. 

And she loves shoes.

I hope that doesn't develop from cute into a problem later. 

Carrie went out to do her due diligence. She found the "stray house." She said it was easy to find. There were a bunch of cats out front including another kitten and two likely parents. There were also several empty paper plates strewn about.

My wife went up and talked to the man outside. She told him about the stray kitten, that we were out of town, and asked if it was okay if we took her home. He said he "didn't care." 

This is one of those situations where I can't help but wonder. Everything fell into place immediately.

Trap? Or Providence?

Carrie and Grandma went out to buy cat necessities while Shane, Grandpa and I went to the Strausberg Railroad Museum. Later, Carrie and I went to a humane society to get the kitten checked out and vaccinated.

The kitten was healthy. The doctor said that she's probably 5 weeks old. Kitten was dewormed and screened her for feline AIDs and leukemia, but deemed too young to be vaccinated. It looks like something happened to the very tip of her tail, too. It's a little short for her body size, but maybe that's not abnormal? I'm not a cat expert.

Shane's excited by the new addition to our family. We have to watch him to make sure he doesn't hurt little bitz since she's so small. He's used to adult cats (who know how to escape) and dogs (who are sturdy). 

We tried to have Shane name her.

That didn't work out.

He spouted off some baby talk no one understood.

Then Grandma and Carrie wanted to name her, too.

Thursday night, the cat's name was Ama.

Friday night, the cat's name was Kaylee.

Saturday morning, the cat was dubbed Bucket.

I guess her name is now Kaylee Ama Bucket.

I don't know who's more confused: me or the cat.

The story took a twist late Saturday night.

At 11:30 PM, a man with a dog started to bang on the door saying, "You stole my cat!"

Grandpa heard it and went down.

He spoke with the man through the door. The man repeated we "stole his cat." Grandpa stayed calm and said it was commendable the man would feed strays, but we'd already taken the cat to the vet to have her checked out.

The man softened. He wanted to know if we'd give her a good home.

"She'll have the best home. We can talk in the morning," Grandpa said. 

This is all second-hand, because Carrie, Shane, and I slept right through it. Grandpa told me about his encounter with "the man next door" when I woke up. At first, I didn't believe him. 

Carrie saw our next door neighbor going out to his Harley and ran out to talk to him. She asked about last night, and he said "Wasn't me." She asked about the cat and he said, "Take it before I kill it. We've got 90 cats around here." 

Apparently, the stray cats were a problem. We saw at least four outside as we pulled away.

I guessed the man who knocked late at night was the same man who told Carrie that "he didn't care" if she had the kitten. I also guessed he was drunk. 

We finished packing, cleaning, and headed out. We stopped at the Wawa around the corner for food and fuel.

I felt a little guilty we didn't knock around to find whoever talked to Grandpa. I said a quick prayer for guidance while I pumped and then took Shane in to the store to find Mommy. 

Brenda was there. Her face lit up and she was surprised and excited to see us again. She asked about the kitten and thanked us for taking her. Stray kittens don't have long life expediencies. I mentioned the night knocks and she was surprised. She said that the strays were a big problem in the neighborhood and that we were saving the little girl's life. 

We talked a little longer, but I had to take Shane to the car. He kept grabbing bananas and candy off shelves. Brenda talked to Carrie some more after we left. I felt a lot better when we pulled away.

"Bucket" did not like being in the kitty carrier. She cried for forty minutes straight before passing out.

She made it home, though. She's in our basement now. Max isn't so sure about the newcomer, but there's plenty of time for her to adapt. The vet suggested we keep the cats separate for a week or two until the kitten can get her shots.

Long story! Nana was dying to know what my surprise from PA was, but I wouldn't tell her. Really, that first picture tells it all: We are a two cat family again. 

Hooray.

At least she's cute.

We'll see if my shots help. 

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The "Too Long; Didn't Read" version:

1. Carrie and I got back from date-night.

2. A random woman offered Carrie a kitten.

3. She took it.

4. I didn't want a cat, but it seemed like everything fell into place perfectly to get a cat. I didn't fight it.

5. Everything looked great and then a random guy banged on the door.

6. All of the neighbors we talked to said "Get her out of here."

7. I guess I have a new cat.

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PS - Ironically, someone at my old school asked if anyone would be willing to adopt her old cat. I showed the cat to Carrie. My wife agonized over it back and forth and finally decided that she didn't want another cat in the house. A month and a half later, we have a kitten. Imagine my surprise!