A cat at our house? Surely not!

First, if you don't know me well, you might not know this. I am deathly allergic to cats. One of my worst nightmare blind dates was way back when . . .with a young doctor. We went to this wonderful home in Mountain Brook for an incredible party and they had cats. My eyes swelled almost closed and I was having trouble breathing . . . I thought the "doctor date" was going to have to take me to the emergency room. Needless to say, that was the one and only date with the doctor.

So for 23 years we have told our children, "No pets - Mom is allergic." Several years ago two feral cats came to our deck and we have fed them but they would never get close enough for us to pet them. We think that Blackie has died - he was on his 8th or 9th life already.

What a surprise when a new young cat showed up a few days ago on our deck. She (we think) is beautiful. She loves to be petted and loved on but is actually a little afraid of coming in the house. When she comes in to visit, we have to leave the door open. She seems to need an escape route.

I must admit that she seems to be a sweet kitty. We purchased litter and a toy or two and tried to coax her into the basement to sleep last night but every time we would go to close the door she would run back out. I believe she is a little wild
:-)
So for today, we have a new kitty sleeping on our back porch. I personally think she is an extra large kitty and I'm not sure she is fully grown. I said that she was not a kitty but not fully grown and Laura's response was, "She is a teenager!"

She doesn't meow. She has this scratchy sound coming from her throat instead of a purr. It is not a purr. We haven't heard her purr. She tried this morning. I can't imagine why she sounds the way she does - sort of hoarse?

So now when you come to visit at our house, you might just be greeted by Snuggles. I never dreamed that this middle-aged mom would have a cat!!