New Year’s Eve day Liz and I were running some errands in the city, one of them being to look for a new dog at Bide-a-Wee, the animal shelter on the east side. We had been there before, and I liked it, so we took another trip. Turns out they didn’t really have any dogs we were interested in, but I figured, [i]hey, we’re here, I’ll just check out the cats. Just to see them[/i]. It was the holidays, and heck, I wanted a treat, if only for a few minutes.
Into the cat room I went, and naturalNew Year’s Eve day Liz and I were running some errands in the city, one of them being to look for a new dog at Bide-a-Wee, the animal shelter on the east side. We had been there before, and I liked it, so we took another trip. Turns out they didn’t really have any dogs we were interested in, but I figured, [i]hey, we’re here, I’ll just check out the cats. Just to see them[/i]. It was the holidays, and heck, I wanted a treat, if only for a few minutes.
Into the cat room I went, and naturally within minutes–okay, seconds–I was all goo-goo eyed over them. I can’t help it. I really want another cat. But after hanging out with some of the bigger cats, it was time for us to go. We were there for a dog, so why keep torturing myself?
But on my way out, I saw it. Or should I say, I saw them.
In a cage was not one, but two cats. Brothers. They were five months old, so cute, and the same general breed as Alex.
My radar went cuckoo for Coco Puffs.
I asked the cat dude If I could see them, and of course I just flipped out. So from there they took us into a separate room where you get to just hang out with the animal(s) you’re considering for adoption.
The two cats were just playing away, climbing up this small Christmas tree, play fighting with each other.
Just to get to this point, a pretty major shift has occurred for us. Liz and I were there for a dog, we’re going to get a dog, regardless, so cats are not really in the cards for the time being. For me, this was like test driving a car you know you can’t afford and will never buy. You just want to imagine, if only for a little while, that it could be yours. That it [i]is[/i] yours.
And then a funny thing happened. I was digging the cats. Liz was even digging themm and after a while, I sorta, kinda suggested that I [i]really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really[/i] wanted to get them. I mean, I know we couldn’t [i]get[/i] them, but that didn’t stop me from saying how much I [i]wanted[/i] them.
And then another funny thing happened. The idea of actually taking the cats–the fantasy–started to drift into the realm of maybe. Of reality.
Now this is big.
Big, big, big.
At this point it’s not me saying how much I want these cats, but should we seriously adopt them? I want to–I know I shouldn’t–but I want to anyway. So Liz and I discuss. We hem and haw. We go over the pros (I want them! They’re so cute) and the cons (cons, shmons), and finally, after about a half hour, I look over at Liz and say, "So? Should we do it?"
Her answer? "Okay. Let’s do it."
[i]Say what now?[/i]
I’m in total shock, but it’s a great shock, but I’m in shock nonetheless. I expected Liz to shoot the idea down. And rightfully so. But if she was in, I was in.
Next I tell the Bide-a-wee staff that I’ll take them, I fill out the necessary paperwork, and ten minutes later … they’re mine.
Mine, mine, mine, mine.
Mine.
And then …
Reality set in. As much as I really wanted them, as much as they seemed like the perfect cats for me, for us, I had this pang in my gut that said, "Dude, you know you can’t do this."
Naturally, I ignored that feeling.
But it didn’t go away. And against all the odds, I had to back out. I actually looked Liz right in the eye and said, "We can’t. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we can’t."
And we didn’t.
In the end it was just a crazy flirtation with an impulse buy that didn’t quite come to be. Liz is still shocked I pulled the plug, but even I had to admit to myself that it was just too big of a commitment to do on the fly. The timing wasn’t right, even if I really wanted it to happen.
Oh, well. Maybe next time.
