Sunday, June 1, 2014

A Cat Named Peaches

Last Friday evening, Kristoffer asked me how I felt about getting a cat for Marin.  I knew there was more behind his question, so I asked him to tell me more.  He responded, saying that he had just been feeling like Marin really needed a cat, so we discussed the pro's and con's, and since my pregnant brain has not been so good at picking up on these subtleties lately, I trusted that if my husband was feeling a prompting like that, then I should follow suit.  

Now, keep in mind we've had some uhhh, well, how do I put this lightly...special needs animals in the past, so the idea of having a pet...especially while being pregnant and preparing for baby number three, was totally distasteful to me.  Our dog that we adopted at 4 months old when Marin was just 6 months old was a sweet Gold Retriever.  She was so great with Marin, but even after training and discipline and exercise and almost three years, she was JUST as hyper as when she was a puppy, and I couldn't handle it anymore.  I was pregnant with Owen, and not in a happy place to deal with a hyperactive dog in the middle of a Portland, OR winter.  So we re-homed her.  And our poor cat, Sadie, we took her in just a few months after we were married, and dragged that poor thing across the country with us to Las Vegas, and moved again while there, then up to Oregon, and moved again while there, along with having two kids.  She had a heart murmur to begin with, and everything else stressed her to the max...she was puking all the time and started having bloody diarrhea from stress, so we also re-homed her at about the same time.  That was hard for me.

So you can see why I was hesitant for another animal.  BUT, we laid some ground rules for Marin and went to PetSmart where they were hosting third party adoptions.  As soon as I saw the cage with the kittens, I saw the one I knew Marin was going to want.  A cream colored kitten with gray tipped ears and tail.  She really was quite lovely, and calm.  Sure enough, that was the one Marin wanted to hold, and that was the one we brought home with us.

 Marin was absolutely in utter contentment holding this kitten.
 At the pet store. 
Owen was so happy to have a new little furry friend to play with also.  We are learning how to be gentle; as a boy, he's not so gentle, but he's learned over the last week how to pick her up appropriately.
 Aaaand this is Owen trying to get the cat under our bed.
 You may notice a theme in this pictures of Marin, holding the cat.  She loves hauling this cat all over.  And we named the kitty, Peaches.
 This picture cracks me up.  A real indication of how the cat feels most of the day, I'm sure.
 Just a little girl and her kitty.  Look at that face.


 Awwwww.  Peaches is so good with the kids.  She is a rag doll kitty, which is a cat type notorious for being very...mux-able.  If that makes sense.  You can flop them around, and they don't care much.  So that;s been a huge help.
We are still working on litter training, so we've had some accidents, but Marin has been so great at cleaning them up, and at making sure Peaches has clean water and food.  So, I think it's been good for her, despite my hesitation.

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