I got a kitten.

Was I looking for a kitten? I mean... not really. Here's the gist of the story:

A few months ago, I had to say goodbye to my favorite cat of all-time, Ernie. I've had a lot of animals over the course of my life, which means I've had to make that decision several times before, but THIS time was harder than the others. Ernie was a really special guy and his loss is still felt every day.

Shortly after Ernie's passing, I found a baby blue jay. He must have fallen from a nest in the big magnolia tree in front of my house. I set up my Yi camera and looked over the footage, watching to see if his parents would continue to feed him, but no one swooped in to rescue the poor little guy. Until I did. I did a bunch of online research and learned what one feeds a baby bird (mushy dog food and raisins soaked in water) and proceeded to care for him. I named him Starvin' Marvin because he was hungry all the time. At that point, the weather was really nice (low humidity, not crazy hot) and I had my windows open. I generally set a timer to remind me to feed Marvin every 20 to 25 minutes, but if I forgot, he'd start squawking and remind me. He was a noisy little thing! I had these visions of nursing him into adulthood and being able to go outside, call "Marvin!", and have him appear at my feet, cackling and demanding peanuts and things like that.

Unfortunately, something ate Marvin.

I was devastated. I cried for two days. I felt like I'd let him down (even though I know most jays don't survive; if you look up the statistics, you will likely be amazed) and missed having a small thing to care for. All of my time was taken up by Marvin... and then there was no one for me to nurture.

I had a dream about adopting a kitten the night after losing Marvin. In my dream, I named him "Harvey" because it sounded a little bit like "Marvin." When I woke up that morning, I didn't actually think that adopting a kitten was a smart idea. I have a terrible terrier named Augusta (she's a Kerry Blue) who's rather high-strung. She doesn't necessarily do well with cats. She likes them a little bit too much. A kitten seemed like a bad idea.

Needless to say, I visited the Adams County SPCA's website and saw that three long-haired male kittens were available. No pictures had been posted yet, but I was interested. I kept checking back throughout the day. At about 2:15PM, some images were posted; the shelter was scheduled to close at 3:00. If I was going to act, I needed to do it quickly. I called and asked if I could come in to meet the little guys.

The kitten I adopted is not the kitten I went to meet. Harvey chose me. And he is the perfect (dare I say... "purrfect") addition to my household. Augusta is a work in progress. We've upped her anxiety meds a bit and that seems to be helping. Just this morning, she and Harvey played without any major mishaps. With any luck, they may be able to coexist fairly normally within another five or six years. I'm remaining hopeful!