A Close Call

I arrived home from work today and found a kitten in my garage. I had heard that there was a cute stray running through the neighborhood and assumed that this was probably it and had now worked it's way to our house for some attention. As I opened the door, it wasn't hugs or "Hi Dad!" that greeted me, but instead four excited kids asking me if I had met Citrus yet?

Who?

"Citrus....the kitten!"

Whoa! What was that? In a matter of milliseconds a rush of emotions from fear to anger to sadness (for my kids) rushed through me and the first words out of my mouth were "No Way! Absolutely NOT! We already have a dog!"

Perhaps I could have chosen some kinder more gentler way of breaking my kids' hearts and denying them their own kitten. (We actually used to have two, but when we moved from Oregon, I had to inform the kids that they didn't allow cats on airplanes and we had to adopt them out to another family. At some point, they will learn the truth and I will have to answer for that manipulation.) I was just shocked that this stray cat now had a name and was apparently getting comfortable with my family. I knew without a strong intervention permanent residency wasn't far off. After some intense family discussion and some internet research, it was decided we would take Citrus to the Humane Society - a "no kill" shelter - where we all felt confident someone would adopt him.

In the end, the kids were great and acted very responsibly when taking Citrus to the shelter and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I had dodged a bullet.

So remember, in the words of the great Bob Barker: "Help control the pet population; have your pet spayed or neutered."