I am not a cat person.  They are moody, shed, and shit in a box.  But when the contractor installing our patio last summer pulled a tiny, scrawny fur ball out from in between the pool and retaining wall, I fell in like.  Just a little.  It was in sad shape; it was so dehydrated that its mews sounded more like a bullfrog with laryngitis.  We couldn’t help but take it in and nurse it back to health.  

The kids instantly fell in love with the creature.  Xena even took to the kitten, nudging it along with her nose and sharing her doggy bed.  Sigh.  I admit, it was cute.  But the cons out-weighed the pros of owning a cat.  It took about 3 days of impromptu family meetings, absurd reasoning on the kids’ part, and ludicrous deal-making before Marty and I finally gave in and agreed that we would keep her.  I then went out and purchased an econo-sized bottle of Zyrtec. 

Jameson was on a Disney’s Jessie Netflix binge during the time the kitten was found.  Since Xena had taken to Mackenzie and ultimately moved into her room at night, James pleaded that the kitten be named “Jessie” and officially his cat.  Mackenzie loves cats.  Like, Crazy Cat Lady comparable.  Most likely, this is the roll that she will grow into in adulthood.  She has Pink Meow and about 2 1/2 dozen other stuffed cats, cat shirts, cat figurines in her room, a cat mask (creepy AF, BTW), plans on “selling cats” when she gets older, and she squeals with delight when she sees a cat anything, anywhere.  However… Mackenzie is 5.  Jameson is 10, and is able to tackle a few more chores than his sister.  So, Jameson inherited the title “Jessie’s Boy”, and I was officially no longer responsible for going anywhere near the disgusting litter box. 🙂

We scheduled a vet visit, and a few weeks later found out that Jessie was a male.  So, we dropped the “i”, Jessie became Jesse, and accepted him into our family.  Because we had gone several weeks thinking that ‘he’ was a ‘she’, we still to this day confuse his gender.  Poor little girl.  Uh, I mean guy…

Jesse is a strange beast – he will scamper away if Martin or I try to gently pick him up, but he will allow the kids to snatch him out of mid-step, fling him over their shoulders and walk around the house all day long.  I think all of the jostling has caused brain damage.  One night, after running a bath, ready to soak the day away with some Epsom Salts and a good book, I was pulled away before I could indulge.  Jesse’s curiosity got the better of him while I was out of the room, and he fell (or jumped) into the unattended tub.  The proof was in a ruined, water-soaked book floating at the bottom, an overturned drink, the window blinds that were halfway ripped down, and the frantic water trail leading out of the bathroom. 

He is a curious, quirky little guy, which the family has grown to love.  Even though the closest he will come to showing us affection is by simply being in the same room… while shoving his head under the fridge…

Last night, however, Jesse almost lost one of his lives…

To be continued….