The Story of Tuxedo #21

This is how I came to own Tuxedo the Cat.

She's almost a year old now, we think. She’s almost three feet long when she stretches out, and 10 lbs.

She was a stray that a friend of one of my nieces was feeding outside. Her mother told her to stop feeding the kitten before she got attached to her. The kitten kept going to the house, so the friend gave her to my great-niece Kiarra. Kiarra was supposed to give her to another friend as a gift.

When the friend told her that his building didn't allow pets, Kiarra planned on keeping her. She made the mistake of putting a picture of her on Facebook. That's when her mother found out she was harboring a kitten. Mother Kim informed her that she already had a cat at home, and her management company wouldn't allow her to have two.

So, now it’s December 17, 2010 and my niece Kim's birthday. Kiarra brings Tuxedo over for the family to see. Kiarra keeps asking me to hold her.  I was kind of afraid because she was so little. Kiarra finally brings her to me and puts her in my lap. After a few minutes I gave her back to Kiarra and didn’t say anything more about it. That's when the real plan came out.

Kim tells me the whole story about the cat. Now everyone has grown attached to her and don't want to put her in a shelter. They want me to take the cat! Mind you, they don't even know if it's a boy or a girl. The original friend says she wants her to be named Tuxedo, what she named her, no matter if it's a boy or a girl. We flip her over and pronounce it is a ‘she’.

I told them I hadn't planned on ever getting another animal since my two cats died over 20 years ago. It was too painful when I had to put both each one to sleep. Besides, I said, I can't take care of myself, let alone an animal. I hoped that was a good answer.

They sweeten the pot by saying they will pay for her food and kitty litter. I told them I'd think about it. I wasn’t sold on the idea. But my family thought it would be good for me because I live alone. Besides, I’m the only one of the clan without a dog or a cat.

Moving the story forward to Christmas Day. We have our traditional family dinner, and the cat is with us. Kiarra brings the cat to me. I said what? They said they thought I agreed to take her because I didn't say anything on the 17th. I told them I was still thinking about it. Kim says, "you have to take the cat because Kiarra is getting attached to her."

So after Xmas dinner, I tried to escape upstairs. I find Kiarra had been in my house, and set up Tuxedo’s food and water bowl, a large storage box filled with cat food and another filled with kitty litter. Overwhelmed, I got into my bed and pulled the covers over my head.

Soon Kim shows up with the kitten and says, "You forgot something." She plops her on the floor in the foyer, and leaves. OMG! I now own a female cat named Tuxedo.