Meow

I am dedicating this post to my lovely furry friend, Gary the Cat.

We celebrated Gary's birthday a couple days ago. Yes, I threw a party for my cat. Yes, I know that sounds pathetic and one day I hope to throw birthday parties for my children and not a feline. For now, I gotta work with what I got...and for the record, his cake was awesome. Yes, he had a cake...and yes, he actually ate some of it and surprisingly didn't throw up anywhere. Win!

Anyway, here is the story of Gary.

Last summer my friend Brian and I were on our way home from the bar. We rounded a sharp curve in the road, and Brian jerked the steering wheel suddenly to miss something on the road...

Brian: I think that was a kitten.
Me: (screaming) TURN AROUND AND GO GET IT

We turn around to go examine our findings. There, smack dab in the middle of the yellow line, lay Gary. He was tiny and wet. He was skeletal and appeared to only have one eye. He was crying, and his appearance absolutely broke my heart. I had no idea if my family would let me keep the cat but all I knew was that I couldn't leave him (later, I would explain to my mother that Jesus told me to take Gary home).

Once home, a bunch of us attempted to nurse Gary back to health. His first night he slept in a box in our summer kitchen. The next day my mother swore up and down we couldn't keep him, but my dad (he is such a softie!) took one look at Gary and committed himself to taking care of this kitten.

As it turned out, Gary had 2 eyes. He was also malnourished and weighed all of one pound (his welcome packet at the vet weighed more than he did). He had a severe respiratory infection and mites in his ears. He was lucky to be alive. Furthermore, free kitties are never really free (Gary was the $500 cat by the time it was all said and done).

Yet, this year with Gary was a wonderful one. He makes us laugh and does cute things. He is kind of dumb but too effing loveable for words. And yes, he is named after the snail on Spongebob Squarepants (genius, I know).

So, happy birthday/adoption day Gary! The Freeman Family (even mom) is happy to have you.

Oh, and for the record, I'm not allowed to bring any more animals home.