Getting a family pet. My weak mommy moment

For 15 years I have said no to pets.  Well except for the cat we had for 5 days when my oldest was 4 and had to find a new home for because it attacked her constantly and was quite nasty.  And the hamster we had when she was 5 that died 17 months later.  But other than that we have never had pets. 

I like animals, but didn't grow up with them, so I am not a huge animal lover and really have no interest in caring for one on a regular basis.  I have 3 kids to care for, adding another living thing to remember to feed and care for was never an interest to me.

My kids on the other hand have always asked for dogs and cats.  They all love animals.  I have always had great excuses for not getting these pets.  We travelled a lot for sports and were rarely home.  The kids were too young to help with the care of a pet.  And so on and so on.

Well last week my daughter sends me a message from a friends house.  Her friend had found some kittens in the woods and had taken them to the local shelter.  Apparently the shelter is over full and was not able to care for the kittens, which meant the chance of them being put down.

My daughter and her friend could not bare to see this happen of course, as most humane people wouldn't, and decided that at least one of them should be ours.  And yes, I say one as she did try for more.  Baby steps here, please.

She played the "I will feed it and clean it's litter and even pay for it's care" card.  She is 15 and really I can fully enforce this right?  She is more than capable of taking care of a pet, I do let her watch the little ones right?   So I agreed.

After a $70 trip to the pet store and a short card ride for a meowing nervous cat, we brought our new family pet home.    The little ones were beyond thrilled.  They couldn't believe he was going to live with us.

In no time at all, our new kitten, Oreo, was fully at home and fitting it.  He is a sweet little thing as far as cats can go.  I am still getting used to having this little fur ball of energy around here, but so far so good.