Who thinks cats are unfriendly?

...not this non-fur-bearing mother of three felines! 

Several years ago I decided I wanted to adopt a cat.  When my sons were growing up, I had cats, dogs, birds, some kind of a hampster-like critter, turtles, goldfish, and a rabbit for them.  But now that my sons were grown and had moved away, I especially missed having a cat.  However, my husband who had never socialized much with animals and especially didn't like cats, was completely against the idea.  He said, "they're sneaky and they don't even come to you when you call them."  Of course, I knew he was wrong and there was only one way to prove just how wrong he was: adopt a cat!

One evening after work, I stopped at the local veterinarian's and asked if they had any cats available for adoption --  they did.  The first cat they brought to me was a Tuxedo.  That is, a black cat with a white bib and little white paws.

She immediately jumped onto my lap, turned around once and comfortably settled herself in the well made by the folds of my skirt.  This was accompanied by the sounds of contented purring.

Next, the vet brought in the dearest little kitten for me to meet.  The cat on my lap stood up and made the meanest hissing sounds I had ever heard.  It was obvious that this lap cat was not about to give up her new-found friend to another cat -- no matter how precious looking the kitty might be.  The next two cats were treated to the same unfriendly hisses.

Okay! That did it for me.   This was the cat that was going home with me that very evening.  She had let her competition know that I was hers and I liked her spirit.

There was only one problem: how was I going to convince my husband that this precious bundle of  fur would be as smart and as affectionate as I always said cats were?

Imagine, if you will, the look on my husband's face when he walked through the front door and saw this "object of his objection."  All you cat-lovers out there know exactly what she did.  She walked up to Doubting Thomas, wrapped her body first around one ankle and then the other, all the time purring in rhythm to the old ballad, "You Made Me Love You."  He was a goner.

(To be continued...)