Milky Way

So, a while back, our cat, Fig, died. It was August at the time. We grieved and felt we'd wait a while before getting another cat. Well, that October, my elder sister, Karen, found some abandoned kittens and tempted us with them. I was hesitant, they were very small and sick and needed a little extra care, but the kids were sad and kept asking for a new cat and the pressure was on, so I caved. I had talked to Zac about maybe getting two from the same litter so they'd have each other and would cause less mischief, though we found out the hard way we signed up for double the hair, double the litter box, double the mischief. We picked both of them up and brought them home. Autumn came and went, I lost my sister, Dad's health started failing, then I got pregnant with Cole. Spring allergies hit, but they didn't let up. It turned out I was allergic to Maple, our fluffy orange cat. I couldn't bring myself to remove one cat while we kept the other. I've seen how pets become depressed and go through grief. I know some people do that, but they were together since birth and separating them felt wrong. What would Smokey do without his brother? I tried to deal with the hair fluffs all over everything, but after a year of constant allergies and living in a Benadryl-induced fog, I just couldn't do it any longer. I was already miserable, very pregnant, then lost my dad, and felt overwhelmed. We weren't going to put them in a shelter. That was out of the question, so we found them a home. The kids were okay and that was it. It was hard for all of us. I never wanted to do like my parents and obtain pets only to remove them once the attachment set in. I felt guilty for a long time over it. But, I wasn't opposed to getting a cat again later on, when the timing was right. I found myself browsing through adoption sites to look at cats and kittens. Anyway, last week I brought the kids with me to pick up Jac's and Leah's eyeglasses and there was a pet store next door. I told them if they behaved, we'd go look and see what they had. Kittens. They had kittens. Five, to be exact, and they were small and fuzzy. I asked about the adoption policy and it was much simpler than PetSmart, so I told her I'd call back Monday (today) after we were back from our trip. I told the kids to pick one of the kittens (they wanted a brown female tabby) and if that one was available after we got back, I'd take it as a sign from a higher power that it was meant to be. They gave me all their birthday and Christmas money and tried to keep their hopes realistic. I called this morning, the shop girl said there were two available, so I told the kids to get dressed and let's go look. The little brown tabby they picked out was still there. I left the kids in the car, made the purchase and their money combined was just enough for all her starter items (sign number 2). Then, she got a free vet visit for her second round of vaccines, her results from fecal and blood work were all normal, clean ears, trimmed nails, fresh bath, no extra charge (sign number 3). We named her Milky Way, but call her May (and also May-May, Kit Kat, and Elias calls her Runny because she runs a LOT). She's absolutely the sweetest and most playful kitten, sleeping in our laps and purring. I promised the kids, allergies or not, we're keeping her until the end.