Kitties

So, this summer, I lost my cat, Domino. I've been pretty miserable since.

Domino was my buddy. I got him just a few months before Allen and I started dating. And we've been buds ever since. He was 11 years old and he passed away the last weekend in June. I was devastated.

I don't really care to get into all the details of his death. He was old and things happen. He passed away in Allen's arms and now, he's buried in our backyard, under a tree in a little kitty coffin Allen made for him.

That same weekend, we also lost our outside cat, Teddy. He was a man kitty and he loved Allen. He sort of came with our house. Outdoor cats don't have that long of a life span so we never expected Teddy to live as long as he did. He was adventurous and he liked to get in trouble. Allen had to nurse him back to life at least 3 times in the 5 of or so years we had him. He got bit by a snake, got into a fight with something wild and God knows what else. That cat was a lucky thing but eventually his luck ran out. We think he actually got into something poisonous and that's how he passed. There was really nothing we could do to save him.

It was a hard weekend for us, losing two cats in a weekend. Freak coincidence I suppose.

Anyway, we were down to 2 cats. When we moved to Nashville, we had 4 cats. But somehow two cats came with our house and we let them stay. So we had 6 cats. But, they slowly passed away and we had 2 left. After Domino and Teddy died, Allen said no more cats. He said the two we have, Ally and Stitch, would have to due. But Stitch and Ally are very antisocial. They don't snuggle, they don't play and quite frankly, I'm not sure what their purpose in my life is. They are not Domino.

I suppose the fact that I still cry all the time about missing Domino made him change his mind. Of course, I am pregnant so that probably has a lot to do with my crying all the time. But anyway....

I've hinted to Allen that I really wanted another cat. Just one more, one like Domino that would snuggle with me and hate Allen. I'd send him little black and white kitties that were available at the shelter. No luck.

But one night, I came home from work on a Friday night and I heard this rat-like noise in our bedroom. I was exhausted as it was election week and I had worked my butt off. So the noise, I thought, could be me going crazy. But still, I told Allen there was a rat in our bedroom. Then I looked down and there was a note that said, "Merry Christmas Amanda. I love you." Under the note was a box top and under that, a little furry creature.

Not only did Allen break down and get me a black and white kitten, but he had brought home a very young kitten, probably around 3 weeks old. This kitten still had to be bottle fed and helped to the bathroom. Oh boy.

But, she is super cute and I've named her Darla.

The past week has been tiring. She has to be bottle fed every few hours and I am already up every few hours in the middle of the night to pee. Of course, me peeing and her feeding times don't mingle so really, I never sleep. But, that should only last a week or so and she should be eating on her own and all that mess.

I really like my little Darla but still, I miss Domino. I know Darla will never be Domino but hopefully she can at least be my bud.

And right now, a little Darla is just what I need.