The Perrault Five

Hell has officially frozen over. This Mother’s Day, there’s a new baby in the Perrault house. It’s been a long journey down the path de resistance. Unnamed Husband declared this a pet-free home years ago. But those of you who know me, know that I am persistent and can beat-down the best of them. Maybe it was the embarassment of our children cowering at others’ pets. Maybe it was Claire praying to God that one day she could have a kitty. Or maybe it was me, wearing him down at every opportunity.

So Friday, as Claire was in school, we packed the lower three in the car and headed across the river to rescue a kitty. I grew up with cats so I knew that I wanted a short-haired male. Boy cats always seemed nicer and I knew that long hair would eventually enrage Unnamed Husband. As the camo-clad Animal Control worker, escorted me through the kennel area, the smell of urine was overpowering so this was going to be a quick decision. He introduced me to two sets of kittens. The first set were adorably tiny but all he had to say was trailer park and bottle feeding.

Next.

Then there are three precious fuzzy gray and white babies. I ask which was male and he checks all three and hands me one. His wet tale makes me cringe and it’s do or die. Cuddling him, I head for the exit. We fill out the paperwork as the guy tells me about his pit bulls and spits into a bottle under his desk.

We carry our new baby to the car in a diaper box and introduce him to David, Cate and Edwin. They are thrilled and Edwin declares the cat’s name is Edwin the Cat. Panicked about the health conditions he’s encountered, we head straight to Dr. Hackett’s office where we learn that the kitty is in good condition with the exception of being a long-haired girl. Edwin quickly renames her Cate the Cat.

Claire arrives home and her delight makes every whiff of urine worth it. She overrides Edwin, and the sweet fuzzy ball is officially, Lucy.

For the past three days Lucy has lovingly tolerated torture from Edwin and the twins. Cate is the worst — think Darla Sherman from Nemo.

Nemo's Antagonist - AKA Cate

With a diabolic twinkle in her eye, Cate picks her up by the skin on top of her head. After being shoved in the toy oven and a trip down the slide, I wonder if Lucy would have been better off taking her chances in West Baton Rouge.

At least there’s Claire. Still a bit scared, she will only pick up Lucy with a towel. She cuddles her like an infant and Lucy basks in the reprieve from the chaos. We snuggle in the bed with her. Claire loves when Lucy “makes biscuits” and presses her paws on my side as if she’s nursing. Claire says,  She knows you’re the Momma.

Even though my mother’s day request was waking up late in a kid-free bed, I couldn’t help but call for the kids to come snuggle with me. Bring Lucy too.

Because I’m the Momma.