Our Newest Family Member

My cat no longer reliably shows up when I pop the top off of my yogurt container anymore.

This ritual used to be a nightly, unfailing occurrence.  So ingrained in our relationship was Lucas sharing my yogurt with me each night that when I had ice cream instead or had forgotten (on the oh so rare occasion) to restock, he would jump up on the couch and sit next to me, staring, accusing me with his reflective green eyes.  "Really?  You forgot our yogurt?  What kind of a pet owner are you?"  I just knew those were his exact thoughts.

But recently, a change has come over my eight year old cat, and he goes by the name of Knight.

A lean, pitch black stray from the neighborhood stole my brother's heart a few weeks ago, and almost $1,000 later we have added this young male cat to our family.

I was very clear from the beginning:  Teno would have to make this decision, he would have to take him to the shelter to get him cleared and checked, he would have to pay the pet deposit and monthly rent.  This would be his cat.  We would welcome him, but the responsibility, the weight of pet ownership would be on him.

So I split the pet deposit with him.

So he sleeps in my bedroom on occasion.

So he likes to sleep under Celaya's crib while she naps.

So he formed an instant bond with my cat and completely changed the dynamic of this household.

It really never occurred to me, even knowing my cat and all his quirks, that we were unequivocally introducing an entirely new personality into our existing blended family.

He turned my cat into a teenager again.  Lucas still comes to me often while I am enjoying my yogurt, but his participation in this tradition is no longer a sure thing.  The two cats run around the apartment at all hours of the day and night, when they're not both sleeping smack in the middle of the hallway, the table, one of our beds, or under furniture.  Carlos and I will hear them when we're sitting up and watching television on my nights off, skitter skitter skitter slide crash! around in the kitchen.  "Well, one of them just hit the blinds."  "Ooooh, I think that was the table leg."  "Dang it!  Knight's on top of the refrigerator again!"

This commentary has become commonplace to our lives.

He has won me over because he has captured my daughter's adoration.  "Knight!  Knight!  Knight!  Go see Knight!  Hi Knight!  How you doing Knight!"  She is overjoyed now to have two kitties to terrorize.

Lucas always tolerated her pat pat patting him on the back, head, tail, foot, nose.  I was worried that a stranger to the house would not be so understanding.  But he is.  He runs from her for sure, but he also allows her to get up close, to pet, to talk (loudly) to him about his and her adventures.  "Silly Knight!  Don't be crazy Knight!"  "Play toys Knight."  "Mama kiss Knight?"

Carlos and I have in the past had several discussions about the pros and cons of taking on a new pet, especially now with a child.  I had always been the hesitant one, unwilling to take on the additional responsibility, unsure of how the new pet would respond to and interact with Lucas and Celaya.  I never would have guessed that it would have worked out this way.

He just fits right in.