I remember it vividly; I was playing on the red swirly slide during recess, holding my little racoon Beanie Boo in my hand. Almost immediately, I would be called out for an early dismissal.

You see, my cat Simon was not doing well. At 18 years old, this big fluff ball of a maine coon was in rough shape and had to be euthanized. My mom was devastated by this, as she got Simon when he was just a tiny kitten in her home state of California. He was there for her during some of her best times and her worst, and now it would come to an end. At the shelter, there were three kittens, two of note were Lucky and Pandora. One kitten who looked like a less fluffy version of Simon, and a small little calico.

As my mom picked me and my little sister Olivia up, we were filled with both a sense of dread and joy. Our cat that had been there since our birth had just passed, but we would also be getting new feline companions. Once we arrived, I laid eyes on Lucky. The worker took Pandora out of the cage, as we were planning on getting her. I wound up asking if I could play with Lucky in the meeting room, and so we now had two little kittens to hang out with. While playing, the worker asked my mother if she wanted to take both of them home.

In her depressed rage, she said yes.

We completed the paperwork, and now we needed names. My sister renamed Pandora to Cupcake, and my 3rd grade self renamed Lucky to Mittens. My mom wanted to name them George and Gracie, and looking back on it now, George would have been a cute name for him. But it was settled. We now had Mittens and Cupcake.

With these two little guys in hand (or box!), we went home and introduced the two to our crusty little tan dog, Sammy. Sammy was very close to Simon, and so we knew he could get along well with a feline companion. While he did not like Cupcake, he was perfectly fine with Mittens. Cupcake was very shy and hid at first, but Mittens was very playful. The silly little tabby was playing all day and being absolutely adorable. His little avocado green eyes were filled with joy.

I vividly remember that at the end of the day, Mittens had hid under a side table and napped. His little face was adorable. Now he could only fit his head under it with how big he is.

I will never regret asking to play with Mittens at the shelter. Olivia would always hog Simon, and so I never really got to hang out with a cat before this. Now we both have cats of our own, with Cupcake being Liv’s and Mittens being mine. He makes me so overjoyed as he is very sweet. If I sit on the sofa, he will likely come up to me and sit on my lap. 

While the circumstances regarding the adoption were quite grim, the result of that day has changed my life for the better.