Gertie the Cat

I'm not sure how the kids convinced me we needed a cat. I think my defenses are low right now, and as long as no one is doing drugs and making bad decisions that will affect the rest of their lives, I tend to say yes. Hence a cat. And Sam's blue hair, Ethan's ear piercings, Grace's shaved head, and Libby's plan for a nose ring. But that is not this story. This story is that I said yes to a cat. 

The girls started scouring the humane society listings and found a very sweet cat that only had three legs. Michael is very allergic to cats, but only some cats. We decided to go meet the tripod cat. He was so very, very sweet but also seemed to spike an allergy reaction. The cat next to the one we were looking at was also very sweet. She was also (so they said) part Siamese which tend to be less allergy inducing. She was also very sweet. She was also thirteen years old, overweight, and missing half her teeth. And yet she came home with us. 

Meet Gertie. She is a grumpy old lady who spends most of her day hiding in a little cupboard or under the girls' bedding. It feels like a wild animal sighting when she comes out of her hiding spots. She is sweet and loving, but also very shy.

She loves to snuggle with the girls, but only on their beds, which she has claimed as her territory.

Sam took a nap with her. He finds it grossly unfair that I won't let the cat sleep in his bed. I suggest that Sam may enjoy not dying from allergies more. He does not fully believe me. His allergies have decreased significantly since that first day, but still no sleeping with the cat. Michael also seems to be okay with her allergy-wise, but it might be because she is 3/4 ghost.

A rare double animal sighting. Gertie will only venture out to the couch when the house is very quiet, which isn't often. Here is our old dog and our old cat, a matching pair.