Meow

OK, it's official. We have now spent more time debating the pluses/minuses of adding another pet to our house then we EVER spent considering adding a child. (Either the first or the second time.)

We (OK, "I") started thinking about getting another pet back in the winter. Our cat is getting old. We adopted her from the humane society as an adult cat, so we aren't sure exactly how old she is. We *think* she is about 13. She's not in great health - nothing is wrong, but she is starting to act a lot older.

There is a pet store down the street that takes in rescue kittens. The kittens roam freely through the store during the week. So, let's say you drop in with a 7 year old girl and a 4 year old boy. They will immediately be surrounded by 20+ kittens within an instant. The kittens crawl all over them, lick them, play with their hair. It's kid heaven.

So, obviously, I have convinced the kids. Every time we go in there, they demand we take 4 of them home.

We brought our older cat to the vet this week. The Vet gave us the thumbs-up to get another cat. She recommended a young male. (Our cat is female)

The pet store is of two schools of thought. One of the employees - an older woman - has basically told me point-blank that she won't sell me a kitten. She said we'd be pushing the older cat "out to pasture" and we'd basically kill her. She said she could never do that to an older cat. (Although later I found out she has 12 cats - at one point, didn't she have to add one???)

The other employees at the pet store are recommending that we get TWO kittens. They think that two kittens will amuse each other and stay out of the older cat's way.

So, our options are:

None (voted for by pet store employee #1 and perhaps Husband D.)
One (voted for by the vet)
Two (my preference - and the rest of the pet store employees' recommendations)
Four (what the kids have requested)

...but if I do start adding cats now - will I end up as a crazy old lady with 12 cats who works in a pet store and won't sell someone like me kittens?

It's a possibility.