A Stowaway from the Mall

So. Ahem. There I was, at the mall. MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS. Buying school shoes, in fact. A cute pair of trainers for Kai, Chuck Taylors for Nick, black loafers for me. When Nicky said, "I wanna go look at the kittens!" There, across the mall, at our favorite pet store, was a three level cage full of fluff. Now I did NOT wanna go look at the kittens. I had planned to take a break after Tess passed away. Dot broke my heart just a year and a half ago. Tess, who took her place on my lap, did the same only last week. I didn't want another cat to break my heart. But we always look at the kittens, so I didn't want to disappoint the kids.

When I got to the cage, I crouched down, and reached out a hand. One of the kittens jumped right up, ran over the the side of the cage and reached out her paw and tapped me on the hand. Which is EXACTLY what Tessa used to do when she wanted to be petted. That was all it took. I knew it was too late. I looked up at Scott and said, "As long as she's a girl, I want her." So he went in the store and made it happen. Her name is Princess. (Short for Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fana Fo Fesca The Third, same as all my cats.) I knew that the second they handed her to me - she was definitely a princess.

We took her home. She fell asleep, purring LOUDLY in my lap on the way. She met the dog, and faced her down with a quick bat of her claws to Honey's nose. Honey got it, Princess is in charge. She met Midnight, Kai's cat. Midnight is disdainfully ignoring her existence. Princess is not bothered, but hops around gleefully. Yup, I said hops. She thinks she's a bunny. Everywhere she runs is a series of pounces. She loves the dangly furball on a stick toy Scott got her on the way home. She loves the furry little balls to bat around the house Scott got her on the way home. (Yes, Scott is a cat pamperer from way back. He loves cats.) So far, she seems to be fitting right in. And she's just as cute as can be. I still miss Tessa - and Dot, for that matter - but Princess helps. I'm just gonna keep my fingers crossed that she stays HEALTHY.