Colette and Lucy

About four months after Alex came into my life, I decided that she needed a playmate. As luck would have it, I had to make a trip to the vet's office not long after that, and saw a sign on the door that said, "A mommy cat and four babies were left in a box outside our door. They are up for adoption."

So, while I was waiting to see the vet, I asked about the cats. They said only one baby was left, and the mommy. I asked to see the kitten.

They, of course, saw the "soft-hearted chump" tattoo on my forehead and brought both into the exam room. It would have been rude to ignore the mommy and only pay attention to the baby, so of course I ended up adopting both of them! The vet still laughs about that little coup on his part.

There was no way I could take the baby and leave the mommy or vice-versa.

Colette (on the left) and Lucy (on the right) are very mercurial little cats (as I've heard most torties are). Having never had torties, I can tell you that the first few years were interesting.

Colette does not like being held and is not a lap cat, and it took her several years before she ever purred. But I know she likes me, as she sleeps on my head every night. She likes to drink out of a dixie cup on the bathroom counter every morning- I fill it up when I brush my teeth. She has a sweet little "mrrkk" that she uses to thank me for her refills.

Lucy, who I call "Bitty Bitty" (as she weighs in at 5.5 pounds full grown) is an odd duck, too. She likes to be petted if it's her idea, and bites you when you do it (but not hard). She pees in the bathroom sink- gross, I know, but better than the carpet. She doesn't care that the other cats are a lot bigger than she is- she'll hold her own in any spat.

I've never regretted the decision of adopting both of them. Everyone should have at least one tortie.