Our new friend

The first ten years of our marriage Kevin and I had two cats and two dogs. I love cats. I grew up with them on our farm, I used to dress up the kittens in baby-doll clothes, in fact at one point we had about 14 on the farm. These were all outdoor cats. They were allowed in the house only for visits.

Before Kevin and I got married my friends Jeff and Tina gave me an adorable fuzzy orange kitty. I named him Boris. Boris was with us for over 10 years. But alas, Kevin is allergic to cats. So as our cats moved on to kitty heaven, we didn't get more.

About a month a go a black cat showed up at our house. We started talking to it and of course the kids named it. "Mickey" is a very sweet cat. He loves the kids and is an excellent hunter. So far, we've received gifts of multiple mice, a squirrel, a bluejay, and various others that we haven't been able to identify. So yes, Mickey is a keeper! Excellent for country living.

Surprisingly, Mickey doesn't mind Joshua's misguided attempts at petting him. Josh has picked him up, sat on him and pulled his tale, all without a scratch or meow. He just waits until Josh is done or until Kev or I can rescue him.

All three kids love him. Here's our new little friend with Tori.