Year of the Cat?
Authored by: Jay Archambeau
I've spent a good stretch of time thinking that if another four-legged friend ever found its way into our family, it would almost certainly be a dog. Loyal. Excitable. Ready to go wherever life happened to lead.
Then this cat showed up.
Not once. Not twice. But again and again. Never with much fanfare. Just… there. Waiting. Watching. Slowly, patiently chipping away at whatever resistance we still had.
It's funny how that works.
Sometimes life doesn't ask permission before introducing a new chapter. It simply sits on your porch and waits.
The whole experience has me wondering if this is the Year of the Cat.
According to the Chinese Zodiac, it isn't.
But according to what's been happening around our home… it just might be.
She's managed to do something I honestly didn't expect. During a season when I'd quietly been hoping for a dog, this scrappy little stray has somehow worked her way into our hearts instead. She doesn't fetch. She doesn't greet us with the enthusiasm of a Labrador. She simply appears, asks for affection, and somehow convinces everyone that maybe she should stay just a little longer.
And then a little longer after that.
We've even started talking about a name.
Kneadles.
It seems to fit on several levels.
She's undeniably needy—which, if I'm being honest, makes two of us.
Whenever she's comfortable, she begins kneading with her paws, making the little “biscuits” that cat lovers know so well. It's equal parts charming and therapeutic to watch.
And then there are those claws. Tiny little needle pokes that remind you she's grateful… but also very much a cat.
Needy.
Kneading.
Needles.
Kneadles.
Perfect.
Funny how the heart works.
Sometimes it gets exactly what it asks for.
Other times, it gets what it never knew it needed.
I'm still fond of dogs. I probably always will be.
But somewhere along the way, a stray cat quietly wandered into our lives, ignored all of my assumptions, and reminded me that love rarely arrives in the package we expect.
Maybe it isn't officially the Year of the Cat.
But around our house?
I'm beginning to think it just might be.
UPDATE: According to neighbors, she is a local cat owned by folks a number of doors down. She spends the majority of time outside. Apparently, her name is “Fifi.”
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