Sass A. Frass
As a little girl I prayed for a kitten every night, as little girls are wont to do. We did have cats while I was growing up, but I never got the kitten.
Fast forward to roughly 20 years and four thousand children later, I am not interested in extra indoor animals. Our patio does attract stray mama cats and their kittens, however, and my husband, though allergic, is really a cat lady at heart, so he feeds them and gives them the occasional snuggle. I watch and appreciate their cuteness and the way they keep down the rodent population, but I don’t get tangled up in any feelings for the floofs, especially since the turnover rate is pretty frequent due to natural predators like tomcats, coyotes, and old highway 20.
Fast forward about five more years, and we now have a dog. (My little girl self is like “Say what??”) By her presence, this giant dog floof has driven away all the little cat floofs, but the rodents do not find her to be a threat. Ben and I don’t appreciate this development, and we try many things to make our home unwelcoming to the pests, but without success. Ugh, Ben, if only you weren’t allergic and we could have a cat in the house.
Now let’s travel in time to a year ago today, the week of my birthday. It’s a lovely evening and Ben has gone for a walk. On his way back, he passes the butterfly garden on our block, and hears the plaintive but insistent wails of a tiny kitten. He arrives back at the house and tells me and the kids what he’s found…this was his first mistake. “You know if we go out there and get it, we’re keeping it,” I informed him. “Well, I guess it’s a good time to not be allergic to cats,” he replied.
So of course we go outside and catch this incredibly small, abandoned, bedraggled, orange, baby-cat floof; starving, and full of mites and parasites and mange and pink-eye. We feed him and snuggle him and tell him he’s the handsomest boy (a declaration of faith if there ever was one), and commit to the adventure. I thank God for giving me a birthday kitten.
My daughter names him Sassafrass (Sass, Sassy, or Sassels for short; Sass Anthony Frass for extra long), and he becomes the most healthy, friendly, handsome, and mighty hunter cat we could ask for. He loves his peoples (esp the parents, and ESP Ben), wrestling with his dog friend, and aggressive face scritches. Since that day last year our rodent population has decreased significantly, and even better, Ben no longer suffers from any cat allergies.
Happy Gotcha Day, Sassypants!