I’ve got a new baby at home, except this baby weighs about a pound, is covered in fur, and meows at me when she’s hungry.
My girlfriend Grace and I decided to buy a cat together around two years ago. It was something both of us had always wanted to do and the timing was right, so we made a trip to the Calgary Humane Society and left with a little ball of fluff we named Fish.
Since that day Fish has been my best friend. As dorky as that may sound it’s very true, Fish has been the best pet I could have ever asked for, and has turned me into a 22 year old “crazy cat lady” as it were.
I had never owned my own pet before, and I wasn’t entirely sure how good of a pet owner I would be, but Fish has always made the job easy.
When I first bought Fish she could fit in the palm of my hand, now fast forward two years she has transformed into a 27-pound mess of hair, bigger than most of my friends dogs.
Both Grace and I have talked for months about how we’ve wanted to buy a second pet but the timing has never been right, until now that is.
We’ve always lived in a house with more than one pet, and now that I’ve moved to Estevan it’s the first time that Fish has been alone, call me a sap but I feel bad for leaving an animal by themselves for eight hours every day while I’m at work, at least, that’s the justification we’ve used to convince ourselves it was time to bring home another pet.
Grace was in town visiting me for the long weekend as she’s still trying to find a job before moving from Calgary to Estevan, so we decided it was as good of a time as any to look at bringing home a new companion.
We visited the Estevan Humane Society on Saturday morning with the intentions of “just looking to see if we liked anything” which of course is code for we’re going home with a new pet but we’re both in denial.
The hardest part for us, of getting a new pet, isn’t picking one out; it’s trying to leave without picking out two or three.
We spent the better part of an hour meandering through the various kitten filled rooms, debating amongst ourselves who our front-runner for favourite pick was.
But all bets were off when Grace saw the runt of a litter that had recently been brought in.
The kitten was barely the size of my hand, with black long fur and baby blue eyes; we didn’t stand a chance.
One look from Grace and I knew our newest addition to the family had been found.
We spent the rest of the weekend, which was supposed to be our weekend to visit and spend time with each other, kitten-proofing our house and picking up all the various items we needed for the new addition.
Fish was skittish at first, letting out a lot of growls and hisses, but she’s calmed down since.
Now it’s our one-pound ball of fluff that seems to be running the roost, hissing at her much larger sister every time she comes too close.
Grace left to go back to Calgary, after a far too short two days together, and now here I am, taking care of not one but two very loveable fur balls.
The real question now is how long before she tells me she wants another one, because we all know I wont have the willpower to tell her no.
Thanks to the lovely folks at the Estevan Humane Society for all of their help and the great work they do.
