We Got a Cat (Again)

We got another cat, which was not the plan—at all.

The employee of a friend passed away unexpectedly and his cat needed a home. My friend took her in short-term, since he already has three cats. Quite sensibly, he posted on Facebook to see what the interwebs could do.

My husband and I are planning a twenty-years-in-the-making move to Europe in a few years, and we already have two rambunctious dogs and two senior cats. I should have scrolled past that post. What I did was take a screenshot and send it to my husband.

Because (drumroll, please) that’s how I roll. Which is to say, I’m an idiot. Adding another pet is objectively not smart. That fact went out the window, because cute fuzzy kitty in need.

Kitty’s new name is Loulee, after Leeloo from The Fifth Element, because obviously. She is beautiful, affectionate, and still not integrated with the other pets. It turns out Buttercup is an absolute a-hole and really pissed off about a new sister, so we’re taking it super slow.

I’m deep into revisions on Undead Impact. It’d be kind of cool if Leelou takes up the mantle of Unhelpful Author Cat. The job has been vacant since my beloved Nerys died unexpectedly.

Maybe Leelou could re-imagine the role to be a Moderately Unhelpful Author Cat. I could pass on the lounging on the keyboard but am totally cool with every scene I write requiring close supervision. I’d be okay with her laying over my wrists while I type, like Nerys used to do, except that Leelou is a much bigger cat. All that would accomplish is giving me carpal tunnel.

So far, the jury’s out on the Unhelpful Author Cat thing. Mostly, she watches.

Which feels about right for a cat watching me write a book about survival, unexpected responsibility, and the way life throws in new variables whether the timing is good or not. Or maybe especially so, because it’s never good timing when zombies are closing in.

So, we didn’t plan on another cat but we’ve got one. No one in my books ever plans on the apocalypse and things usually work out.

Mostly.

Unless they die.

A new cat feels very low stakes when I think about it that way.

A friend once told me, “Anne, things always work out in the end. If they haven’t worked out, you just haven’t reached the end yet.”

In the end, I’m sure it will work out. It’s just gonna take a little time to get there.