Wait. Am I a cat lady now?
A tail from Tracy: This is Debbie’s “gotcha” story. Gotta start somewhere, right?
FYI: You are now going to discover why this is called ramblings. You’ve been warned. You’re welcome.
Picture it: 6 months ago in a small town in CT, it’s girl’s day out - my daughter, grandaughter, her friend and me, Nan. Usually this involves shopping, Starbies, lunch, me just following them around with my credit card. And we don’t start too early because Nan doesn’t do early. Except on this day. And omg, early and I’m told we’re starting the day at a cat freaking cafe and it’s cold AF. Um, what? I have asthma and I’m a dog person (another story for another day but on this day I was pet-less). It’s fine. Everything is fine. The girls will love it. I’ll get a coffee (the cafe part) and scroll on my phone while the girls play with cats. I’m a jerk, I know.
Oh my goodness. It was SO CUTE. The cat cafe and the cat playground were separated by glass windows. There seemed like eleventy billion cats but I think it was like 7 or 8. I got us all hot chocolate and coffee and they let us in. The girls were squealing with delight. I watched them for a few min, took some pics and then plopped myself on a chair and began scrolling. And huh, no asthma issues. Nice.
Here comes a bit of a squirrel moment. I’m not a complete jerk. I LOVE kids, I ADORE animals, I swear. But there is a time and a place. There are moments I like to just adult with humans - like at a party where there is wine or on a Saturday morning when it’s early. But, I must not give off these vibes because I am a magnet. Last party I was at, I was enjoying some wine with friends - we were a little offset because there were children and well, we were drinking and a bit sweary. All the kids kept coming over to talk to me. WHY? I do not know. They were adorable but please go away, child. hahaha… I really do sound like a jerk. I really am soft and cuddly inside somewhere. And THAT must be the vibe that comes out. Because…..
While the girls were trying their best to make the cats love them and cuddle them, here comes this cat sauntering up to me and rubbing all up on me. I put my hand down and start petting her and talking to her… oh, hello. of COURSE you want me. What about me is giving off I want company? But boy, you are a pretty kitty, aren’t you? Now the girl over-seeing the cat playground sees an opportunity to start “selling”. These cats are all rescues and are looking to be adopted btw. Forgot to say that.
So she starts telling me about this cat who has now walked off and hid in a tree. She did NOT sound like she was selling. She proceeded to tell me that Debbie - could you die? I LOVE that her name is Debbie. She said Debbie has been there the longest and is the bully of the playground. What?! She was so sweet to me and then walked off cuz she was done. “Debbie can be loving when she feels like it and then when she’s done, just leave her alone. Don’t invade her space. And she gets a bit stand-offish and can be a bit of a jerk if you bother her.” Read the room, people. Um, what is wrong with that? My daughter is listening and starts laughing saying, “um, so she is the cat version of you” lol… and OMG she is. Then the girl proceeds to tell me that she is the only cat who has had not one person requesting to adopt her. WHAT? OMG I FELT SEEN. We are just misunderstood! That was the moment I said, let’s do this Debbie. I walked over to the tree, bent down and said, Debbie, whaddya say? Wanna do this old lady life together? I feel like we get each other. POW! POW! Debbie swatted me - HARD. I took that as a yes.
50 pages of an application filled out and a drop of blood later, it was official. I was being considered and would be called if I was good enough for an interview. Oy. The woman in charge called ALL of my references and asked some tough questions. Then she called me. OMG it was the hardest interview of my life. Then she said she’d think it through and get back to me. After what seemed like weeks, I got the call and SHE WAS GOING TO LET ME ADOPT DEBBIE! I started crying I was so happy! See? Not a jerk, I swear.
Since I’ve been pretty verbose here, I’m going to save what happened the day I actually got Debbie. That’s a whole thing lol. And I broke a rule on the very first day. Yes, there are rules. And checkups. Woof. The pics below are of the girls day and when I met my Debbie. The name of the cat cafe is Perk and Paws Cat Cafe - the first Cat Cafe in Litchfield County, CT. They are awesome - give them a follow to see cute cats and help their algo.
I never thought I’d be a cat lady, but here we are. And I am SO HAPPY! Debbie and I are living our best lives and I can’t wait to tell you more.
xoxo, Tracy
