This Wednesday, I became the proud owner of one adorable kitten.

I've grown up around cats. When I was born, my parents had four grown cats, so although I never got to experience the fun of having a kitten, I loved cats and grew accustomed to having them around. Over the years, they've all succumbed to old age.

And when I say old age, I mean REALLY OLD age. The last of the original four, a... charismatic calico named Miss Piggy, was euthanized at age 23. She was energetic right up until the final few months, when her tired old body just couldn't run on it's own anymore.

It's been almost three years since the death of Piggy, and ever since then my sister and I had been begging our parents for another pet. We loved taking care of them and having them around, and our house just felt so empty without a furry little friend.

Mom's answers were always the same: "Ask your father."

Dad was a tougher nut to crack. He would say, "I'm too old for a cat. I don't want to be cleaning litter boxes anymore. I've rescued my fair share of animals." But after a few arguments with my sister, I think he was feeling guilty, and when I casually brought up the topic again, he gave.

"Dad, I miss Piggy. We need to get another cat."
"I'm too old too take care of something for another twenty years."
"What if I take it with me, when I move out?"
"Promise?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, let's get a cat."

And the next day, we went to the shelter and inquired about kittens.

The lady told us they had relatively recently received 4 kittens, but they had just been fixed that day and couldn't go home til the next day. She said there was one particular little runt who hadn't had much luck with potential adopters.

Not wanting to miss out, we took a gamble, and told them to hold him for us. We returned the day after and saw him for the first time.

He was absolutely perfect.

He was tiny, with a little head and giant ears. When we took him home, he sniffed cautiously for a while, and then jumped up to my lap, curled up around my neck and fell asleep.

It feels like he was almost meant to be my cat. We get along so well. He follows me like a little puppy, and sleeps in my bed every night. He loves to run and play and chase things and be silly, but he'll also cuddle with you when you're watching TV. He's everything a pet could be.

My family, who was skeptical of adopting a kitten at first, have all fallen in love with him.

Sometimes, I guess you don't know what's missing in your life until you find it. I suppose I was missing a furry little friend and some unconditional animal love. Now the family feels complete.

No cat can replace the ones I grew up with, like Miss Piggy, Whiskey and Boots, but the new guy, little Howie, is a great addition!

Adorably yours,

Izzie/AJ/Howie

twitter.com/IzzyZilla