(Disclaimer: This post was totally Recliner Man’s idea. He even provided the title.  I thought you should know that before you start shaking your head and mumbling about how obsessed I am.)

Last December 22nd was cold. It was one of the rare days when the temperatures here actually dips to freezing.  It was late in the evening of the 22nd that my daughter and son-in-law arrived for their holiday visit. Upon their arrival they found a kitten sitting in front of our house.

We are a family of cat lovers so we couldn’t stop thinking of the poor little kitty and who would have left it out on a cold night like this. The kids immediately wanted to bring it inside and warm it up. I was sure it would soon hurry home and decided we should just leave it alone. By 1:00am the kitty was still sitting by our front door and my compassion had overtaken my common sense. “Bring the kitty in, but only for the night and it goes back out first thing in the morning!”

True to my word I made them put the kitten outside in the morning and we didn’t see any more of her… until Christmas Eve.

We had been hiding gifts for a neighbor with small children. She came over around 9pm to collect the gifts and when Recliner Man opened the front door to greet her they were both brushed aside by a dark, furry blur that rush inside at a speed that would make Nascar proud. The kitten had returned and she headed straight for the kitchen and the bowls of food that had been set out for my daughter’s cats.

Chomp, chop, chomp… that kitten was starving! She was also determined to stay inside and claim her new home.

We did all the right things looking for her owners. We even took her to a local vet to have her scanned for a micro-chip. No one came to claim her and as the days went by we began to wonder if we would be able to give her up should one appear. By mid-January we declared her ours and took her back to the vet for shots and a spaying. We named her Abbey.

We didn’t think that we wanted another cat. We reasoned that it was much easier to travel when you didn’t have to find someone to take care of a cat. It was also nice to walk out of your house secure in the knowledge that you weren’t covered in cat hair. The truth is that we did need a cat. We needed the joy that she brings on a daily basis and the love that she shares. We were not unhappy people without a cat but we can’t deny that we smile and laugh more that Abbey is here. Of course there is a down side, my house is strewn from end to end with cat toys. Every box, paper or wrapper that comes into the house becomes her toy. Every trip to the store runs the risk of adding to her purchased toy collection. Every fake fruit in the centerpiece is now one of her toys (note the apple under the tree with her.)She is a pampered little thing and we are completely owned. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Whether it comes on four legs or two, I hope that love visits you this holiday season… and decides to stick around.