When my husband and I started dating he couldn't believe my dog and cat lived inside, let alone slept in my bed! Seriously, he didn't understand this concept. A year later I found myself sobbing on the phone because I didn't feel comfortable moving with him because of my animals. He shivered at the thought of allowing animals inside a house. How in the world would I bring my animals with us considering they were indoor animals?! If I wasn't allowed to bring my animals, I wasn't moving. Simple as that!
I won that battle.
My dog wasn't able to move to our new location until 10 months after we moved, but my cat moved with us right away. A month after living here my husband said, "I can't imagine life without Tigger. He makes this feel more like home." Both of us were homesick. He was missing Brazil and I was missing the midwest. My cat made things less lonely.
(Tigger relaxing outside after we moved into our house)
A few months ago I went with a friend to the sketchiest house I've ever been to. The sketchiest part? My friend was getting a tattoo in this house. I went along because I was seriously worried about her going alone! The tattoo artist also ran a pet shop - inside her house.
The first thing I noticed when I walked in the door was this:
(she slept on my lap like this for hours while my friend got her tattoo)
I was sold. I sent my husband numerous pictures of her. I wanted to rescue her from this sketchy house. The lady's husband told me he was thinking about feeding her to his snake. I know he was joking, but seriously?! I told my husband that and he said, "you have to bring her home!!" So I did. She came home with a mild case of ear mites and fleas. I made her sleep outside in a kennel the first night because I didn't want my cat and dog to get fleas from her. I woke up bright and early and rushed her to the vet for blood work and so on. It took us weeks to name her, but we decided Mima was the best name for our new bundle of joy.
(Mima after a bath!)
The same man who shivered at the thought of animals living inside a house and thought animals as pets was the most ridiculous thing ever is now in love with all of our pets. He claims it's a Brazilian thing. Dogs are guards, cats hunt mice. According to him, animals live outside and never come inside the house. He's a changed man. I swear, the man is more concerned about the animals than me!! He cuddles up to Mima every night and sometimes says, "I can't believe you were almost snake food."
Mima is definitely my husband's cat. They don't spend much time together because he works a lot, but they were meant for each other. They even have the same attitude and temper! They are two peas in a pod.
It took me awhile to convince my rural Brazilian that having pets is a wonderful thing, but I got the job done!
Isn't she a cutie?!