my 36th birthday...and a cat

Sunday, September 17, 2017, was my 36th birthday and a day that will live in Six Pack infamy as the time we finally got a cat.

I had grown up with cats, having a least one and most of the time many more than that in the house. This was in high school with one of Little Bits' last litter of kittens, Pooky.

That's Little Bits and her last baby that we kept because no one wanted him, Garfield. Ha! Poor cat.

Garfield was still around when Terry and I started dating. Ha! So you see, he knew I loved cats. 

When we first got married and lived in the trailer on the ranch, we adopted two semi-wild/tame cats  from his parent's barn that his mom fed every day. Pictured below is Ditch, which was Terry's favorite pet name. He's since suggested it for every child, saying "No one would mess with a kid named Ditch." Ha! We had another black kitty named Fraidy because she was scared of us. When we moved up to the "green house," we brought the cats along, and somehow acquired another one named Gandalf the Gray, who became Gandalf the Girl when we discovered her true gender. But then nature called, or the coyotes came calling, and the cats disappeared. So I had outdoor cats for all of like four months. Then in 2008, when Evie was a baby, we got Noah a puppy, and named him Snap dog after his leg made a snapping noise when he almost broke it. Snap attacked every cat he ever saw (and killed some at the ranch), so we could never have a pet cat - he wasn't even allowed at my parent's house. I always threatened Terry that as soon as Snap died I would bring home a cat, to which he replied that if we lived in a trailer I could "lace it with cats." But when Snap died Christmas of 2016, all I wanted was another dog. I really enjoy Luna, quite a bit more than Snap, and had a smaller desire for a cat than previously. But somehow, the kids wore daddy down...

The night before my actual birthday, Terry and I went on a date to Longhorn Steakhouse. Yum!

We discussed the kids' increased desire to have a cat. It made him super excited...

My free, non-singing, and zero attention garnering dessert.

We visited the Humane Society after church Sunday the 17th and when we left I sent this unexplained photo to our families. Ha!

We got a cat!

The shelter was overrun with cats and was having a $20 special so that probably lowered Terry's defenses somewhat. Mostly he caved due to the kids' incessant begging and because it was my birthday. What a softie. But really, it's taken 13 years to get a cat into our house...and we may live to regret it (if we don't already at times...). 

What a killer we had brought home! This was the first picture I took of the kitty outside his box and look at those claws!!

The kids and I brought the kitty home while Terry went to Walmart to buy all the supplies we needed. Once he returned home we let the cat out of the box in the laundry room and got to know him a little. He was estimated to be just over four months old at the time based on how big his teeth were. He'd been at the shelter for a month already.

The kitty was already little box trained and did his business not long after being released. That made us breathe a sigh of relief.

How cute is little Evie with her new baby?!

The boys love him. Ezra is especially taken with him and carries him around nearly constantly.

The kids have never had a cat before so it's all new to them. We all quite enjoyed the instant purring that the kitty made when we'd hold him. 

There were two cats at the shelter we were primarily interested in. The other, Travis, was an older orange kitten who was exceptionally friendly. But I wanted a younger cat with darker hair because I think it camouflages better. I sort of wish we could have got a girl, and one that doesn't nip when he's feeling lovey, which is something he did even at the shelter and has not stopped doing. But this is what we got. The first pic I snapped of Terry was rather blank so I told him to smile. This was what I got from him... Very reminiscent of the Garfield photo above right? Ha! Cats bring out the fierceness and/or craziness in him I guess.

So stinking cute.

My goodness this cat has grown a lot in the few weeks we've had him. He's getting to be such a fatty.

The kitty stayed in the laundry room for a week because we wanted to make absolutely sure he knew where his litter box was. We went upstairs and later celebrated my birthday with the cake I had made two weeks before for Terry's birthday.

"Happy birthday to you..."

"Happy birthday dear mommy/Eva..."

"Happy birthday to you."

Ezzie helped me blow out those big candles. Being on the other side of 35 sure seems old...

My mom gave me a sort of gag gift that later went to Evie.

Wonder Woman?

After the birthday party when the kids were in bed we posted on social media about the new cat. This was the photo Terry put up. Ha ha. I posted that we needed helped with names. What a crazy, fun filled birthday that was!