It's no secret that I love animals.
I've grown up around animals my whole life, with my parents first child really being Fred, the bassett hound.
When I finally moved out on my own, one of the first things I wanted was an animal to call my own. We weren't technically allowed to have any animals in the apartment in Nashville, but my step brother and I decided we wanted our own, regardless of what our landlord said.
I was looking on Craigslist one night, and found the cutest little gray kitten on the planet. She had ears the size of Batman's, and she was the runt of the litter, and the last one to be given away. Her mom randomly showed up on this farm, and they didn't know the mother was pregnant until two days later, when she started giving birth.
When I picked her up, she was the cutest thing on the planet. Giant eyes and ears with this little body, and barely any hair on the back legs and tail.
She was perfect, and I decided to name her Phoebe.
Fast forward four years later, my boyfriend and I moved in together, and I (obviously) brought Phoebe with me, but she started to get lonely when we weren't around. Trav and I had already decided that getting Pheeb a friend was probably pretty necessary, since she started to have real separation issues, even though we both normally aren't gone that long.
One night after coming home, scrolling Facebook, I saw the local animal shelter post about these four cats that were on the urgent list, and their fees were discounted, and they needed a family fast. We saw this big orange and white long haired cat, whose name at the time was Harry, who looked like he needed some serious love. The next day, we drove to the shelter, and fell in love immediately with the sweetest looking thing on this planet.
We renamed him Cletus, and he has become the most mischievous, sweet and funny chunky cat. He likes to chase around his toys, scratch at the carpet, and play with Phoebe, even when she makes it known she's over it.
Animals, cats or dogs, should be treated like the part of the family that they are. They do adapt their own personalities, and are so much fun.
Just come good cat appreciation. :)