Then Came Rbi...

Amber was probably very happy being an only cat. Heaven knows my husband was happy having just one animal. Me? I like having two cats, they can take care of each other when you go away for the weekend and such. But I agreed to give having one cat a try...

I need to back up a little here. Before Amboseli, we had Malarky and 'Quinn. Malarky was a beautiful blue point Birman, a wonderful breed of cat whose long hair does not mat. Malarky was a love of a personality until he got sick. He had gorgeous blue eyes and the tips of his feet, like all Birmans, were white.

'Quinn is short for Harlequin. Quinnie was a short haired Tortoiseshell, and, like all Torties, she was talkative and into everything. We called her the supervisor because we couldn't do anything without her being involved. Like a Harlequinn Jester, who wears one color on one side of his body and a different color on the other side, 'Quinn's fur was orange on one side and black on the other. She lived to be twenty-two years old.

I was okay with just having one cat. I missed walking into a room and seeing two cats curled up together, but I promised my husband I would not look for another cat. In the back of my mind, I fully expected another cat to find me. And she did. I went into a pet store I never go to to buy some bird seed and found a cage full of feral kittens. There, in the middle like she owned the cage, was a Tortie with little white paws. Here was a kitty who was channeling both 'Quinnie and Malarky! The sales clerk told me lots of people wanted her, and that she was still making up her mind who would get her. Of course, when I told her how this little kitty embodied both of my loved cats, she was mine! Even hubby couldn't say no when I told him about her fur color and the fact she had little white feet. Being a huge baseball fan, I named her Rbi.

Is there anything cuter than a kitten?