We had a really good life with Joyful, our cat of 17 years who passed away almost 10 years ago. We put off getting a cat because Joyful was just so special to our family we didn't think we could handle, emotionally, another cat who wasn't Joyful.
How wrong we were!
Intellectually, I am positive we knew. But, we just didn't want to go down that road. And, then that day in July when I asked Jarrod what he wanted for his birthday and he said, simply, "A family cat." All of our bundled up concerns, laid aside thoughts of loving a cat again, came rushing to the surface. Then, we stopped by Petsmart. Just to see.
In 9 months, Athena has made us better people. And, we have found, just like it is so easy to love more than one child, we can love more than one cat, too. Athena hasn't replaced Joyful in our hearts. We've made huge space for her to settle in. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she snuggles in and sleeps on my lap all night...