About 2 weeks ago, we discovered that again, for the third winter in a row, we were getting mice in the house. They've discovered us, and they like it here. (Or at least they did.) Jeff, who has been angling for a pet he knows he can't have for 10 years now, says, "Too bad we can't have a cat. Then we wouldn't have to worry about mice."
He had a point. It really was too bad. Cats actually are useful for discouraging pests, and we seem to get more than our share of pests at this house. And they're not that hard to take care of. You don't have to take them for walks. You don't really have to worry about housebreaking them. They don't require the the level of affection that dogs do.
Hmmmm. I've been taking Zyrtec nearly every day for something 3 months now. Because... it's great (and I do have other allergies to things that always seem to be around. Like dust.) It works better than Claritin, and unlike Claritin (which, IMO, ought to be called unclaritin), it doesn't make me spacey or sleepy.
And yeah... Jeff caught me actually thinking about it.
Jeff: I read that if you give them regular baths, allergies aren't so much of a problem.
Me: But who in their right mind would give a cat a bath? Especially one with claws! And how good would it be at chasing off mice if has no claws?
Jeff: Don't worry about it. I'll do it.
Me: Yeah, right. You won't. Not every week, and not without nagging.
(
But with both of us working, we could afford to take him to a groomer.)
Jeff: There are people who can do it for us.
Me: A lot of times, cats scratch up the furniture. And the drapes. We can't guarantee we'll be able to train it not to scratch up our stuff.
Jeff: We can train him. There are things you can do. I don't care that much about the furniture we have now. And if we really have to, we can declaw him before we get new furniture.
Me: I don't know. I don't like the idea of declawing.
(
But honestly, I don't care that much if furniture gets scratched. We have kids anyway; everthing is casual.)
Jeff: It would take care of the mouse problem. And the kids would be so happy.
Me: I won't handle a cat or its stuff. I don't want any part in its care. Someone else will have to do it, and without me nagging. I don't want to have to nag. And if it's the kind of cat that insists on rubbing up against me, or crawling into my lap, it won't work. Zyrtec can only do so much.
Jeff: The kids can help. But I'll take all the responsibility for making sure things happen.
Me: We have to get it a bath every week. And a vet appoinment right away. You have to take care of it, and you can't wait until I nag you to do it.
Jeff: I know. I'll take care of everything.
(
Oh, God. What have I agreed to?)
At least, that's how I remember the conversation. Jeff might remember it differently. In fact, this is how I picture Jeff remembering in.
Me: God, I hate mice. I'm so sick of them!
Jeff: A cat would solve that problem.
Me: Hey, I take Zyrtec now. I guess there's no real reason we can't have a cat now.
Jeff: Great! I'll take care of everything!
Me: And I promise not to nag about anything...
So Jeff proceeds, without involving me, to fall in love with this cat:

So, 3 days before I said I was ready to begin looking at cats, we all troupe down to PetSmart to adopt Jeff's cat from the animal rescue. But when we get there, I have doubts. This cat looks way too friendly to me. Meanwhile, Evy falls in love with a beautiful calico (Molly.) I watch Jeff loving the cat I have doubts about. I watch Evy loving another cat who looks suitable to me. I see Katy looking all disappointed when I don't think the white cat is for us. I can't decide. We can't decide. So what do we do? You know what we do. Of course! We get both cats! Why not? They can keep each other company.