Empathy

Lamb really wants me to get a cat. I do plan to do that eventually. I worry about getting a cat before I retire, but I don't want to wait until the kids are in college to get one. Mister remembers my cat, Koshka, who died in 2003 at the ripe old age of 19. He'd like a new cat, too.

Lamb wants me to get a kitten. And I would like to raise a cat from a pup, too. But a friend who is too kind hearted about accepting cats told me kittens are easy to place but adult cats really need homes.

I recently told Lamb that when I get a cat, maybe we should get a grown up cat because they need homes too, and most people don't like to get grown up cats. Lamb wasn't eager for that, saying she wanted to make sure the cat grew up to know her and like her. She was worried that our cat would be like my parents' cat who avoids us when we visit.

I explained that our cat would like her because Lamb would see our cat a lot. It is all about the cat being used to Lamb.

She thought about it and asked, "So the big cats need homes, too, right?" Yes, they do.

"Well," she said after a moment, "then just get whatever there is more of."

That's my sweet little girl. Her level of empathy is heart warming. She wants a kitten. But she recognizes that older cats need homes, too, and might have a harder time of it.

I'm still not sure whether I'll get a kitten or an older cat. But I do know that Lamb will love whatever I get.