So we have a cat

So we’ve adopted a kitten. Sort of.

More like she adopted us. As least we’re pretty sure it’s a she.

We’ve named her Kit Kat.

It began Saturday evening while Phoebe and I were outside and playing a game of Frisbee – one of her new favorite pastimes. 

I heard what sounded like crying coming from a bush alongside our shed. I turned toward the bush to try to figure out what was making the sound.

Then, after a couple minutes, a small gray kitten peered out from under the bush. She came out a few feet and then retreated to the bush. She was meowing non-stop, seemingly desperate for some attention and care. She had no collar and we have no idea where she came from.

This went on for several minutes as Phoebe and I stood at our fence watching her. She wouldn’t come too close to us, and after a while we headed inside and went on with our night.

Last night, we headed outside to play again and she appeared almost immediately, coming from the opposite side of our yard. Quickly, she was walking alongside us, brushing up against our legs and prancing from one side of the yard to the other while we threw the Frisbee.

She was extremely skinny and obviously hungry. So Kates and I broke down and gave her a couple slices of ham and cheese, which she wasted little time eating.

The girls had taken to her, and she seemed to be relishing our company.

Finally, though, it was time for us to go inside. But the bond had been formed, and the kitten sat perched on our deck while Kates and I prepared for the start of our work week.

Oh, and Kates made a run to the grocery store and returned with cat food. Stuff was getting real.

This morning, Kates opened a bathroom window and noticed she was still on our deck. We all got ready for school, left the house and went on with our days – though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about her throughout the day.

So tonight, I came home from work and arrived in the house to find the inside quiet but the door to the deck open, and I knew. I found Kates and the girls in the yard with Kit Kat, who was dining on a bowl of the food Kates bought last night.

For the second night in a row, she walked alongside us, around and in between the legs of the girls like an old friend while they played in the yard. … And when we brought our supper to the deck for an outdoor dinner – despite our attempts to block entry points with baby gates – she found her way to our table and paced around the deck while we ate.

After we had the girls in bed, Kates and I met in the living room – and there was Kit Kat outside our deck door, meowing to beat the band. Begging for attention, or to come inside the house …

We’re holding strong on keeping her outside. But with a storm brewing tonight we retrieved a plastic tub from our basement and outfitted it with a blanket and an old sweatshirt for her. As the storm came in, she took to it and curled up inside.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings. But it looks like she’s here to stay … for at least a little while.