How I Became A Cat Lady

Growing up, I didn’t have any pets. Unless you count parakeets, and let’s face it: Those suckers are only good for annoying you.

I’ve always been a dog person. I knew that my first pet would be a dog. I just knew it. In Turkey, we had a lot of stray cats on the streets and my impression of them wasn’t always so loving.

They hissed at me, a lot. I mean, not that I can blame them. Those streets be rough, yo.

The internet brought some cat appreciation into my life. Sure, you can haz cheeseburger!

I still wasn’t sold on having a cat for a pet.

Fast-forward to June of 2009, after I moved in with my new roommates. I went from growing up in a house of NO pets to a house full of a dog, and 3 cats.

That’s a lot of fur, you guys.

To make matters more interesting, my room wasn’t ready the first night I stayed at the house so I was to sleep on the couch in the living room.  This was before the two boy cats moved in so it was just Dori, the cute girl cat. I had gone out that night, and when I got home, everyone had gone to bed. I changed into my PJs, grabbed my laptop to do some writing and figured I’d have a decent night’s sleep.

Dori had other plans.

So, there I am, exhausted from the day of moving (not the mention the car accident from the day before) and all I want to do is lie down on the couch and pass out. Not 30 seconds goes by before Dori jumps up on the couch RIGHT NEXT TO MY FACE.

I managed to not scream. I took the nice kitty off the couch, put her on the floor and said “No!”

Oh, how foolish I was.

I closed my eyes again, and this time, had a mini-heart attack as she was even closer to my face.

I tried this two more times until I decided that there was no way I was falling asleep with this cat around, and the next time, I would scream so loud, I’d wake the whole house up.

So I stayed up the entire night and watched in horror as Dori ran back & forth between the kitchen and living room. Sometimes, she jumped on me. That was fun.  When my roommate came downstairs at 7, and said “Wow, you’re up early,” I really had no words to convey the night I had.

So, all of this and spending a year with 3 cats would certainly make me be completely against cats, right? I mean, all the fur, and the running away (Dori loved to escape) and not to mention Andrew’s allergies when we first started dating…

All signs pointed to “No Cats EVER”

But, something happened. Between losing my job, deciding to be a full-time freelancer and completely losing my mind, I decided I wanted a cat.

Andrew’s allergies? PFFT, HE CAN DEAL.

He didn’t think I would do it, but then I fell in love with a little kitten named Mitzy. I first laid eyes on Mitzy while scrolling through the Humane Society site on a hot, DC summer day. I looked at her. The stuffed octopus on her head looked at me.

It was love at first sight.

“Andrew, we’re getting this cat.”

“Aw, she’s cute.”

“No, seriously, I’m going over there tomorrow to fill out the paperwork.”

“Wait. What?

“I mean it.”

“…”

“…”

Just a few days later, we took Layla, formerly known as Mitzy, home.

I wasn’t the only one who fell in love with her

Allergies? Pft. The cute conquers all.

Though she has her slutty moments

And drives me crazy

She’s pretty much the best reason to become a cat lady.